


Of Winter Knights

by Dr_Harbinger



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Injury, M/M, Rare Pairings, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:59:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8714863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Harbinger/pseuds/Dr_Harbinger
Summary: Kuai Liang had admired Kenshi from afar for some time now, a human warrior who fought with grace and skill even those with all their senses could not. But they are far from young men anymore, each burdened with a duty beyond themselves, and Kuai is not so certain that he could bear to watch a very human Kenshi falter, either in combat or to time. A new threat, however, will force him to make up his mind and with it decide what will come of their fledgling courtship together.





	1. Peace and Quiet

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story in Mortal Kombat so of course it is going to be full of characters that are out of character, fumbles in detail about backgrounds and character speaking patterns. Most of this is taking place after the end of MKX and uses a lot of the Arcade Ladder endings all thrown together. As I know the characters are out of character and my rare pair is so rare this is maybe the second story to feature it, I will delete/ignore negative comments that ARE NOT proper critiques (I.e. if something is wrong how to improve upon it). Otherwise have fun.

If Kaui Liang was honest with himself, he was glad for the occasional visit from the Special Forces. Training with them kept the Lin Kuei on their toes and gave the children of his friends a challenge worthy of someone raised by kombatants. Sometimes the trainers of this special team would spar with him after, to keep their own skills sharp of course. By far his favorite to spar with was Kenshi. Not that Johnny did not put up a good fight but the man was human with human limitations. Kenshi at least had the advantage of his telekinesis combined with his skill as a swordsman. And if the fluidity in which he moved, reminiscent of his tai chi background, made their sparring sometimes feel like a dance, well, that was for him alone to know.

Not that he thought Kenshi was unaware of his thoughts during their matches. He did try to keep his mind clear in an effort to confuse him but there was a limit to what he could do when faced with such a graceful fighter. It did not help that he had never truly been able to allow himself to trust another since Bi-Han’s passing and the man had proven to be both an ally and a trusted friend when he needed an ear outside of the Lin Kuei to speak to. It did not hurt that the man was handsome, his silver hair and well-trimmed beard the only signs of his age that he could see, well-spoken and witty in a way Johnny Cage could only hope to be. Yet Kuai knew he did not have a chance with the man, the very existence of his son proving that his interest lay in women not in old half-breeds like himself.

So he kept his less than honorable intentions of the man to himself, looked forward to their sparring matches if only to better the both of them a little more should the Netherrealm or Outworld have the gall to attack again. To say that he kept a high standard for the man’s son was fair even if he had no part in raising him like the Scorpion did. Perhaps it was fair to say he kept a high standard for all of them but especially Takahashi Takeda. Still he did not think he was unfair in the bar he kept raised for them. They just had to work to reach that standard.

But before they could, it seemed, the realms had their own ideas. It was not Netherrealm this time but Outworld that was stirring up trouble. While the children were sent for reconnaissance, Kuai had his Lin Kuei prepare should matters escalate. He sent word to the Special Forces commanders, offering his clan’s aid should they need it. He tried not to worry about any of them, especially the kids, and instead focus on matters within his temple. His followers needed him focused on the task at hand if they were to stand against the vast Outworld armies of Kotal Kahn.

In the end the Lin Kuei were called into action and as much as he wanted to be the one to avenge his slavery against Quan Chi, he instead led his clan against the armies of Kotal Kahn to give the younger fighters the time they needed to get to that unholy place. The battle was hard fought. The Kahn was powerful, a sun god whose strength more than matched his father’s. But no other could face the man and live so Kuai faced him himself. “I am not your enemy, my Kahn,” he said though he took an offensive stance anyway, “but I will not let you take what is not rightfully yours.” 

How long he fought the Kahn he would not know. It felt like hours but could have been days for all he knew. His strength started to fail him toward the end but he could see the Kahn growing weary as well. At long last, however, the red sky began to fade. The Jinsei of Earthrealm was somehow restored. Kahn called what was left of his army back to Outworld, deciding he needed time to regroup and Kuai let him go, holding back his own soldiers from pursuing them. When the dead were counted he had lost maybe a third of his men. The Kahn looked like he lost almost half his army. 

It took some time to gather the dead and bring them back to the Temple for a proper funeral, many of his disciples having no families of their own outside the clan. If he had known about Shinnock he might have left his second in command in charge and gone to help them. An Elder God, even weakened by his fall from grace, was a matter for all of them to tend to. He would not have just sat idly by.

But Shinnock was defeated and when the last of the clan’s dead were properly seen into the afterlife, he let his second in command take over for a little while as he traveled to the Special Forces headquarters with a pair of men where he knew his allies were located to make sure none of them were worse for wear. Johnny looked like he had been badly burned and Kenshi still had bandages wrapped around his right leg while he balanced himself on crutches. Hanzo looked annoyed and embarrassed but at peace. “Quan Chi is dead,” he simply said when Kuai asked him what had happened, “Both our families have been properly avenged.”

It was Kenshi that explained more of it when he finally got the chance to sit with the man and speak to him. “One would think that even our enemies, as stubborn as they are, would grow weary of all of this constant fighting and death.” He sounded more tired than Kuai had ever heard him before and he wondered if this was a side of the wandering swordsman that anybody else got to see of him. 

“That would assume that they find killing to be only a means to an end rather than killing for the pleasure of it.”

Kenshi’s laugh sounded hollow. It was an almost painful sound to hear. “Yes, I suppose you are right.”

And Kuai knew that he could not, in good conscience, leave the man here. Not after that fight when he clearly needed time to recover. “Come with me to the Lin Kuei Temple, Kenshi, if only for your leg to heal. You do not need to be here and I am sure your son could use some time with his comrades to celebrate their victory over Shinnock.”

“But I need to…”

“Get leave from the General? Then so be it but I will not take ‘no’ from an answer from you this time. Your leg needs time to heal and being in this mess will only slow your healing.”

Kuai did not need to watch Kenshi’s features to know he was trying to read his mind. There was a certain way he unconsciously tilted his head as if he were listening for something only he could hear. Kuai let the man search through his thoughts, let him shift through his concern over the injury, the relief that he was relatively alright, the need to see him recovered properly, and perhaps a scattering of a few thoughts about wanting to keep him close if only to reassure himself the human was still alive and not enslaved into being a monster like he had once been.

It was difficult to read the telepath’s reaction to the latter thought but clearly he found no issue with it as he gathered his crutches and balanced himself to stand. Kuai followed after him to the general’s office and waited until he got his leave. When Kenshi emerged he asked Kuai to wait a moment. “I need to say goodbye to my son. I’ll be along shortly.”

Kuai did as he asked and waited for his friend in an open area for him to say good bye to his son for a short time. He did not watch or pry into the man’s affairs in that  
regard any more than he had to. He knew from more than enough experience that family matters were often the hardest to settle. Instead he sent his man ahead to prepare a room for their guest while the other he sent to retrieve some basic necessities. As Kenshi promised, it didn’t take long and before long they were off. 

The chill of the temple had never bothered him although his human followers often wore layers to stay warm when training outside for longer than an hour or two. He understood their need although he had never experienced it. It almost made him wonder how his and Bi-Han’s destiny might have been different if they had been born full blooded human instead of the half ice beings that they were. He hoped it wouldn’t be too cold for Kenshi but other than his warm breath condensing in front of his face in the chill he showed no real discomfort. “I have sent word ahead to have a room prepared for you. If you should need any assistance, I or any of my men would be glad to help.”

“Are you certain you would rather not tend to me yourself?”

“If that is what you prefer.”

Kenshi chuckled. “I do not need to be a telepath to read your mind my friend. You would not have brought me here if it was not to oversee my recovery yourself.”

Kuai thought his silence was answer enough as he led the man inside, taking care to keep an eye on the crutches so that they did not catch or slip. When they got just inside the main doors he was careful to take off his own boots then watched and waited until Kenshi had done the same. It was clear from the way he moved that it was more than his leg that bothered him. He’d have to look more in depth at the injuries later. 

With the boots off, Kaui knew that the crutches would scrape the floor that the trainees worked so tirelessly to keep clean so when Kenshi went to grab then he took the man’s arm instead, draping it over his shoulder to let him lean on him rather than the crutches. He had not thought the man would feel so warm even through his clothes… or that his hand would fit so comfortably against the swordsman’s side. “We will come back for those later,” he promised, “but first let us get you settled. Dinner should be prepared shortly.”

The room itself was not far from the entrance, centralized to keep it relatively warm for human guests. It had no windows but Kuai didn’t think Kenshi would mind that much. It was peaceful and quiet and normally a good place to meditate. No matter. He could meditate out in the ice when he needed to. There were candles already lit and a simple but comfortable cot laid out. Kuai brought the swordsman to the cot and let him sit on it, only taking his hand to show him where the table beside the bed was and the stand on it set for swords and daggers. “I do not know where you usually keep Sento when you rest but there is a place for it here. It will be well protected.”

“I know it will,” Kenshi said as he shifted a bit and began to take off the outer layers of his armor, “there are few places safer than the Lin Kuei palace.”

Kuai tried to smother the sense of pride he felt at those words but knew some of it came through anyway. Instead he stood and made to leave the room, turning back to watch Kenshi get the first bracer off at least. “I will retrieve dinner for us to share. It should be finished soon and you should stay off that leg as much as possible.”

“This is hardly the first time my leg has been injured, Master Liang.”

“I have no doubt. But I also know when a warrior prefers to keep moving instead of staying still and letting his injuries heal.”

“And what will you do? Freeze me in place?”

A number of quick images flashed across his mind’s eye, not all of which were innocuous ways of keeping Kenshi in that bed until his leg recovered. Judging by how the telepath paused for just a second while fiddling with his second bracer he caught at least some of them. “If I must. I will be back shortly.”

It did, in fact, only take ten minutes and when he returned to Kenshi’s room, a tray in his hands. He had known that beneath all of the armor the man wore simple clothes but he had not expected them to be so form fitting. In a way it did make sense if he thought about it. For the armor to fit properly the cloth it rested on couldn’t be overly loose. What was more surprising was that Kenshi had shed his blindfold too, instead exposing his eyes to flickering light of the candles. Perhaps Kuai was biased but the glowing blue of them looked beautiful. He wondered, given the man’s mixed heritage, his eyes had been blue before the incident or a soft brown.

“I have brought food and as strong, warm tea. I doubt alcohol will mix well with your medications.”

“Medications that I did not bring.”

“Nor a great many things. I took the liberty while I was retrieving you to have one of my men gather some things for you.”

A silver eyebrow rose in Kuai’s general direction though he paid it no heed as he set the tray on the table his men had set out of the direct path when they prepared the room for Kenshi. He moved carefully as he set the plates, cups and utensils aside to let his guest hear where and how he was arranging them. “How presumptuous of you. And unsettling.”

“If nothing else it was a test in stealth that will prove useful in their training. Your things are in a chest at the foot of the bed. I will show you where the facilities are after dinner and then check on your wounds.”

“The doctors already…”

“Treated them, I know. But until I see for myself how they are, a proper recovery timeline cannot be established.”

Kenshi sighed but got off of the bed, balancing carefully as he made his way to the table where the smell of food was. Kuai said nothing as he watched him, fingers brushing carefully over the low sitting table to judge where it was before sitting down. He kept his leg unfolded under the table to prevent undue pressure but the Lin Keui wondered if he consciously left it to press against Kuai’s knee gently. Either way he was pleased. He hadn’t felt this young in a long time. He had forgotten how much he missed the frivolity of youth sometimes.

They talked a little bit while they ate, mostly chatting about the others. The food was good though a little too hot at first from Kuai. He channeled some of his power into the bowls to cool it quicker though he left the tea lukewarm. Even he was not so much of a heathen as to drink tea cold. 

“Takeda is a proud boy,” he said as their conversation lulled, “I can see why he was trained by the Shirai-ryu. He takes as much after Master Hasashi as he does you.”

“Suchin was always a bit of a firecracker herself. I imagine she and Master Hasashi would have gotten along famously had they met.”

“Much like a house on fire?”

Kenshi chuckled. “Something like that.”

“I am glad. Master Hasashi has lost much. I imagine having a chance to raise a warrior like Takeda had brought him peace in its own way.” Kuai had never been married and now was far too old to consider such things even if he were to find a woman. He couldn’t imagine having a loving wife and child and then losing them in a slaughter of his entire clan. Losing Bi Han had been hard enough and they had been brothers.

“I think it did. Takeda accepts my tutelage, I think, because he plans on returning to the Shirai-ryu after the Red Dragon is eliminated.”

“And that quest fares well?”

“It is delayed now, of course, but will resume soon enough.”

“Should you need assistance I would be glad to aide you.” Although he doubted he would be called upon. This was a personal vendetta, a quest for vengeance. It was not to be taken on lightly nor should outsiders interfere where they were not wanted. Yet the man had already dedicated ten years of his life to this quest and despite his abilities he was human. He did not have the years to spend chasing after false leads. Time and his injuries would eventually catch up to him.

“I appreciate the offer,” Kenshi said, “but it is something Takeda and I must do on our own.”

“I understand. Still, it remains an open offer should you need it.”

Again silence fell but it was companionable as they finished their meals. When the food was gone and the tea drunk, Kuai gathered the dishes and set them on the tray to be taken out later. It amused him to watch his guest tap the floor behind to make sure there was nothing in the way before he laid back, stretching out both his legs so his shins rested against Kuai’s knees. He didn’t think as he settled one cool hand on the injured leg, feeling unusual heat radiating from it. The wound was angry and fresh. He hoped it would cool after a good night’s rest 

“… I am curious about something, Master Liang, if you will indulge me.”

How curious. “Ask though I cannot promise that I will answer.” He had secrets he had to keep after all. Theirs was a remote but powerful clan for a reason.

“What do you really look like?”

The question surprised Kuai which must have reflected in his thoughts somehow because Kenshi clarified. “I sense my opponent’s energies, listen for the movements and when I wield Sento the spirits of my ancestors guide me in battle. When I am without the blade I can only see how someone thinks of themselves in their mind’s eye. Your aura of ice obscures your appearance. I cannot see passed it to your true self. So I ask again, what do you really look like?”

Kuai, careful of the shins on either side of his folded knees, moved from his seat at the table to kneel next to Kenshi instead. The swordsman, clearly sensing his movement, sat up, blue eyes staring just passed Kuai’s left side. He waited until Kenshi was properly balanced on one of his folded legs before taking the man’s nearest hand and holding it next to his face. “See for yourself though I fear you will be disappointed in what you find.”

Kenshi turned to face him properly then, his wounded leg folding around the Lin Keui grandmaster until the bandaged shin rested against his leg again. Properly balanced Kenshi lifted both hands to hover by Kuai’s face and Kuai released the hands he was holding, a sign of trust. “I don’t know if I will be disappointed per say,” Kenshi said lifting his head. He almost made eye contact. “But finding out you are not actually a talking statue is disappointing.”

Kuai smiled as waited patiently until Kenshi’s fingers brushed his thick beard. “My hair is black though it is starting to grey in some places,” he clarified enjoying the feeling of nimble fingers brushing through it to feel where his actual jawline was, “humans say my skin looks discolored, almost blue.”

Warm thumbs brushed his cheekbones, starting about where his nose was to feel out the shape and size of his face. They traced his lips next and his nose, skimming off to trace his brow. They didn’t apply much pressure but he knew the sensitive finger tips could feel the edges of his scar. They traced the whole of that next. “Your skin does feel cool to the touch. Is this a typical thing with your people?”

“I do not know. As far as I am aware, Frost and I are the last of our kind.”

“And she is not in your thoughts?”

“She is my student and nothing more.”

His hairline was traced next, then his ears and back over his cheekbones to his nose then brow again. He didn’t close his eyes when those careful hands all but covered them. “What color are your eyes?”

“They are blue.”

“Ice blue?”

“Yes. Nearly white. I have been told some find them unnerving.”

Kuai had thought that with his face mapped out that Kenshi would take back his hands but instead they ran through his thick hair again and down over his neck. This was…. more than he had anticipated but not uncomfortable. Curiously they followed the line of his shoulders through the padding of his vest down his arms. “You wear a vest but no undershirt?”

“I do not need to. The cold makes me stronger. To me this place feels as spring might to you.”

“I would hate to think of what you might consider cold.”

“I doubt many living creatures could survive it.”

The fingers kept going, this time to trace over the breadth of his chest, pausing just above his abdomen before coming down to trace his thighs. The heat of the man’s hands sent a spark of want through him that he quick tempered. He hoped his guest would not have noticed. “So you are tall, strong, and walk about your compound almost bare chested. I am surprised none of the Lin Kuei have expressed their admiration.”

“What makes you think they have not?”

“The fact that you are here with me, letting me to touch you when I have no doubt there are more a few amongst them who would literally kill to be in my place.”

“They are my students. It would be inappropriate.”

“Are you sure that is the only reason?” One of the hands on Kuai’s thighs traced his flank. His breath caught at the sensation for just a moment as the curious touch became firmer. “You did not bring me here only to ensure my proper recovery.”

There was no point in lying. “No. I did not.”

Kenshi opened his mouth to say something else but Kuai spoke first. “If my attentions make you uncomfortable you have only to say and I will desist. Your recovery is more important than my foolish desires.”

“They are… unexpected.”

“I am-“

“I did not say that they were not welcome.”

Kuai blinked as one of Kenshi’s hands cupped his face for just a moment before he was pulled closer for a kiss. Caught off balance, it took a moment before he settled his weight again and close his eyes to enjoy the warmth and sensation of another’s hands on him and the sweetness of a gentle kiss. How long had he wanted something like this? He could remember as a teenager having more important matters to focus on and then as a young man honing his skill to serve the Lin Kuei as Bi Han did. He had never taken a lover before, not really. Yet he could not deny how odd yet right it felt to have another man’s hand in his hair and another’s beard catching in his. How fitting that the cold Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei be seduced by the blind wandering swordsman even if it took more years than he wanted to admit to get to this point.

He leaned back after a moment, brushing his cold nose against Kenshi’s cheek as he separated. “This is inappropriate.”

“I am not one of your students.”

“You are wounded.”

“But not helpless.”

Kuai traced the line of Kenshi’s beard to brush his temple then over his eyes, which opened at the touch. If he hadn’t known better he would have thought Kenshi at least a demi god. “Come, let us get you back to the bed. You need to elevate that leg.”

“If I do as you ask will you at least lay down with me?”

“This is not a negotiation.”

“Does it need to be? Perhaps I just wanted you by my side for a while longer.”

Kuai sighed and stood but could not keep the subtle vestiges of a smile from his face. “Let’s get you settled first. We are not as young as we used to be.”

Kenshi scoffed as if offended by the very notion but with the aid of Kuai’s hand within easy reach got to his feet without putting much weight on his leg. He made his way back to the bed and grabbed some pillows to act as a prop beneath his knee and foot. Kuai waited until he had settled back on the remaining pillow before stepping closer and sitting near the man on the bed. He knew his natural chill would only invite infection and make it harder for the human to keep warm. Still he stayed within arm’s reach so he could hold Kenshi’s hand in his and toy with his fingers he watched the man settle. He looked tired despite the sun having only recently set. “I will stay until you sleep. You have had a long day.”

“It was not so tiring as all that.”

“Not to a normal man but I imagine a military base as large and noisy and that of the Special Forces would be constantly tiring to a man with sensitivities such as yours. You will be able to rest properly here. My men understand the importance of silence.”

“You are not wrong. Takeda has an easier time with it I think. It is a relief to be away from the noise. Thank you.”

“If the room is too cold for your liking there are more blankets beneath your bed. I will return when the sun rises to check on your injury and bring your breakfast.”

“And my crutches?”

“And your crutches.”

“You never did show me where the facilities are.”

“This is not your first trip to my home. I’m certain you remember.”

“Then why did you offer to show me earlier?”

“A slip of the tongue. It has been some time since we have had guests here for any sort of prolonged period of time.”

Kenshi laughed again. Kuai was glad. It was a beautiful sound he wanted to hear more of. “Looks like I am not the only one getting old.” And they both knew it well.


	2. Recovery and a Surprise Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Master Hasashi realized Kenshi has spent two weeks with the Lin Kuei and assumes kidnapping. Kenshi is less than pleased with the assumption he cannot take care of himself.

Days passed and the pair of the settled into a comfortable routine. After breakfast, Kuai would check on Kenshi’s burned leg to ensure it was healing properly. The other injury he had thought Kenshi had when they first arrived was just a twinge in his back from being on the crutches thus bent so often. With the wound checked on, he would send Kenshi ahead to the showers and gather fresh towels and bandages for him. He rarely stepped into the room completely, preferring to leave the items just inside the doorway to avoid both the steam of the hot water and the temptation to see Kenshi bare. 

For the rest of the day Kuai spent his time attending to the training of the Lin Kuei, fielding requests for the aid and testing the most advanced of his students to see where they might improve themselves. It was difficult to avoid using ice with most of them as they were good but not Kombatants but it was well worth it. By the time night fell, Kuai would finish up his final rounds for the day and grab dinner for himself and Kenshi which they shared together each night. 

They talked about trivialities, movies that Kenshi had caught relatively recently or some of the rather amusing fumbling of the newest recruits while they ate then after checking Kenshi’s wound they would simply lie together in the same bed for a while until one or the other grew tired and Kuai would leave.

Kenshi’s wound healed well enough for him to walk without a twinge by the end of the second week and he had been grateful to be able to practice his kata again. “As much as I do need to rest I cannot abide letting my training slide for long.” His forms were smooth to Kuai’s trained eye, his movements well practiced and graceful though, like when he fought, he kept his head down as though he were listening intently for something. “Another week and I will be able to  
spar with your men, provided they are actually something of a challenge.”

“I do not have raw recruits at the moment. Even my least skilled warriors will at least provide you with some entertainment.”

“I would hope so. Two weeks in a bed without company is dull.”

Kuai was too old to be embarrassed by such implications. “You spend too much time with Johnny Cage.”

“Or not enough time with you in my bed.”

“When we can fight in earnest again I will consider it more seriously.”

“That sounds like a challenge to me.”

“If you wish to consider it such.”

The smirk on Kenshi’s face was an appealing sight. “I will. When it comes time we will have to make a wager.”  
Kuai had been about to say something about that when a polite knock on the doorframe drew his attention. The warrior that opened the door bowed low but did not enter the room. “Grandmaster, we have an unexpected guest.”

Did they? How surprising. “Truly? Who is it?”

“Master Hasashi.”

That surprised Kuai more than anything else. Even Kenshi paused in his kata. After all the man had outright refused to accept his offer of alliance if not friendship and never visited the Temple on his own time. To come here, now, uninvited, on his own was worrisome. “Thank you. Prepare tea for him and a small room near one of the outer walls.” He knew the man would feel safer if he had an easy means of escape should things go poorly… or at least a way to see any “enemies” coming. “Bring him to the central garden. I will be there to greet him momentarily.”

The warrior bowed again and closed the door behind himself as he went about fulfilling Kuai’s orders. The cyromancer sighed and ran a hand over his face. Was this never going to end? All he wanted was peace. His clan had a new purpose. The enemies they would make turning their blades for the good of Earthrealm were worthy adversaries. For all the horrors he had been made to do when he had been forcibly mechanized by his own clan he would repent his ways. Why couldn’t Master Hasashi see that?

A warm hand to his shoulder drew his attention from his own thoughts. “Do you want me there?” Kenshi asked quietly, no doubt at least sensing the darker tone his thoughts had been heading down. “Hanzo has a temper but he can generally be reasoned with, that incident with Quan Chi nonwithstanding.”

“I will speak to him alone. If his anger is too great I do not want to risk undoing all your recovery getting caught in the crossfire.” 

“You underestimate me.”

“No. I underestimate his control.”

“Without reason.”

“We shall see.”

Kuai cupped Kenshi’s face gently just before he left, a gesture that was intimate without being a kiss, and left the room. Knowing Kenshi the man was going to put on some minimal armor, grab Sento and spy on their conversation anyway. Fine. It would save him the trouble of repeating it later anyway provided he could stay out of sight and avoid drawing unnecessary attention to himself. Kenshi was many things but stealthy had never been one of them.

The courtyard in which they met was beautiful and no doubt full of greenery once upon a time. But the world literally grew colder. The original owners of the temple either abandoned it or were slaughtered in its defense. He had already had most of the plants that could not survive the cold moved so that one would not have to worry about tripping when sparring out in the snow. It was a good thing too as he saw the snow melting around Hasashi’s feet, his temper controlled but not completely extinguished.

“Grandmaster Hasashi,” he said as he got closer, pausing to bow politely to his guest and rival, “What matters bring you to my temple this day?”

Hanzo was too angry for manners, apparently. “Where is he? I know he’s here. I had thought the Lin Kuei only stole children, not fully grown adults.”

They used to but Kuai had banned the practice as one of his first acts as Grandmaster. “I nor my clan have stolen anyone. What is this about?”

“Kenshi. I know he is here. Why you kidnapped him to begin with I do not know.”

Well that was more than a little insulting but to keep his temple in tact he chose to ignore it. “Kenshi is here of his own free will. He was wounded when he aided the Special Forces in the Netherrealm. I brought him here to recover in relative peace.”

“You lie. He would not abandon the Special Forces or Takeda.”

Kuai folded his arms over his chest, consciously making an effort to keep his tone calm and collected. It also kept himself from forming ice everywhere in a reflection of his cold anger. “I was there when he got permission from General Blade and said goodbye to Takeda. Both know how to reach him in case of an emergency.” 

“That was two weeks ago!”

“It takes time for humans to heal burns from hellfire. You of all people should know that.”

Kuai heard the clattering of a kunai and dropped his arms from across his chest, ready should his opposite throw that damn thing but before the fight could happen one of the doors to the main compound opened and Kenshi himself stepped out. “Stop!” he said sharply as if dealing with unruly children. It was not too far from the truth. “I am here, Hanzo. What do you want?”

“I heard you were taken to the Lin Kuei temple,” Master Hasashi replied, his eyes never leaving Kuai, “You’ve been away two weeks without a word and left when you were wounded. We had reason to be concerned.”

“Who is we, Master Hasashi? Takeda knew of where I was, has a less mundane way to reach me should he need to. I am as aware of him at all times as he is of me even when we are so far apart. General Blade knows where I am as does Johnny and the rest of the children at the Special Forces team. So I ask again, who is we?”

Kuai interjected even though he knew his input would not be appreciated. “It sounds like you are jealous, Master Hasashi, that he spent that recovery time here than with you. I had thought you had enough to deal with when it came to your Shirai-Ryu and their troubles. The whereabouts of a single swordsman not of your clan should have been a secondary concern to you if any at all.”

That set his opposite off and the kunai did go flying but it was easily glanced away as was the next blow thrown at him. It was getting later in the day. The mountains were growing colder and with the cold his own power would increase. Surely the former wraith knew this? Knew he would be at a disadvantage? He was not usually as foolish as this, attacking his enemy in their own stronghold during their strongest moments.

When Kuai disengaged Hanzo he paced around the small courtyard, circling his opponent, trying to see what could not be seen. Something was wrong. A worthy rival wouldn’t be this naïve but he knew of no other species that could shift its shape so easily and still command the skill of the one whose shape it wore. 

Before the pair of them could fight again Kenshi stepped between them one hand toward Hanzo and the other by his blindfolded brow. As handsome as he looked with the blue band over his eyes, the red still suited him well. Perhaps a shorter blindfold was in order though, something an opponent could not grab at in the middle of a fight to pull him around or disorient him by removing it. Or maybe blue would suit his silver hair better. That was something to be investigated later though.

“I am not a victim, Hanzo,” Kenshi all but snapped, “not of kidnapping, not of manipulation, or whatever you think happened. I came here of my own free will and I will leave when I so choose. That you miss me is sweet but not worth the fight you came here to engage in.”

“But-“

“But nothing. We may be friends but that does not mean I cannot choose my own path. You have all but raised my son. You know the Takahashi stubbornness better than most.”

The kunai clattered as it was put away wherever it was the ninja kept it and Kuai relaxed slightly to see it gone. Kenshi’s hands dropped and he stood straighter, his head high and straight as if he was looking his friend in the eye. Sento glowed softly from its sheath, perhaps sensing conflict, but stayed where it was. “If it is as you say then why did you not contact anyone in the two weeks while you were here?” Hanzo continued stubbornly, his mask of anger easily seen through by any who knew how to look beyond the surface, “Surely you were permitted to do so if you wished.”

“Yes, I could have. I did not think I had to. I also have a hard time reading and writing. The blindfold is not just a decoration you know.”

“You have but to ask if you want something written,” Kuai told Kenshi quietly, “although I cannot promise my Japanese is quite as up to par as yours.” 

Master Hasashi sighed, his breath condensing thickly in front of his face as the temperatures dropped. Even Kuai was starting to feel a bit chilled. All of the human Lin Kuei would have likely turned inside hours ago to practice in the indoor arenas kept up for specifically this purpose. If they, who were trained against the cold, had to retreat then so did these two. “Come,” the Lin Kuei grandmaster told his guests as he gestured toward the door into the building proper, “this is not the place to continue this discussion. I will have some tea brought to us and we can finish this discussion civilly over tea in my guest hall.”

Kenshi, perhaps sensing his need to disarm all of this before it got ugly, nodded and was the first to return indoors, Hasashi following after though with far from a trusting eye. Kuai waited until the ninja was a good distance away before following too. Yet he was not so far away that he did not noticed the way Hanzo watched Kenshi’s movements both looking him over as a warrior might but also… ah. That would explain it. He wasn’t exactly being subtle and with his temperament it was a wonder that Kenshi couldn’t hear his thoughts as loudly as if he shouted them. Or had he ignored them through his point.

They found the room where Kuai usually entertained his guests (however rarely they would come) and settled down while he stopped one of his men and walking by and asked that tea be brought in. The warrior looked confused for a moment when he saw who the guests were and Kuai had to hold back a smile. “It is a matter of diplomacy,” he told the warrior who clearly still did not understand but accepted the answer nonetheless. 

The guests had taken a seat at the kotatsu that had been set up in the room when the seasons began to change though it had been some time before it was used. He knew without checking that Master Hasashi had likely turned on the heater within it so he avoided sitting underneath the blanket. It wasn’t exactly meant for him anyway. For a while after they settled, silence stretched until the tea arrived with three large cups. Kuai thanked the man who brought it and began preparing it for the three of them without a word. He was only here now to act as a mediator. It was an odd position to be in to him and not one he often found himself in, not with this set of people.

After a while of sipping the hot tea, it was Kenshi that spoke aloud first though he could have easily just started the conversation without using physical words. “Hanzo, I understand your concern. With Shinnock’s release and Quan Chi’s death a lot of old and painful memories were stirred up by your confrontation with the enemy. But I am not helpless. I am not a victim. I am a warrior who has more than once taken even you down before, both when you were yourself and a wraith of vengeance.”

“Harumi was a fighter as well. My whole clan were fighters, some of the best in the world. Yet they too were slaughtered like beasts and their souls used for dark magic.”

“I clearly still live.”

“And I will do all that I can to keep you that way.”

Ah and here they were getting into the roots of the matter. Kuai just continued sipping his tea, listening to their conversation without participating. He didn’t think they would make the mistake of forgetting his was there but he hoped that his presence would not interrupt this conversation they clearly needed to have. This was his home after all. He should be privy to any conversation going on under its roof should he so wished it. His Lin Kuei knew this. His guests surely knew this too. 

“I do not need your help, Hanzo. I have more than enough blood on my blade to prove I am capable of taking care of myself.”

“As you are still recovering from your injuries in the last battle and I bested you easily when I went to the Special Forces for Quan Chi I would argue that this is no longer the case.”

Kuai might have choked on his tea if he were a man of less control. Instead he just paused and raised an eyebrow, using the tea to hide his expression. He had known Master Hasashi was a hot headed fool at times but this… He didn’t need to be telepathic to feel the utter fury building within Kenshi. It was a minor miracle the tea cup was still whole. Before the swordsman could say anything, Kuai interjected instead. “It is late and the sun has set. The mountain is too cold at night even for me. If you must fight to prove your points, it can wait until the morning.”

The Shirai-Ryu grandmaster looked outright offended by the idea. Not that Kuai expected otherwise of course.  
Everything he did offended the former wraith somehow. “I have a room prepared for you Master Hasashi. It should be to your liking. If you are hungry there may yet be some dinner remaining in one of the kitchen. Frost is currently training on the other side of the facility and will be kept on a close watch so she does not disturb your sleep.”

“And you expect me to take your word on that?”

“I expect you to do nothing. But contrary to your claims I believe Kenshi has more than enough skill to prove himself when the sun rises and it would not be in your best interest to fight at less than your best.”

Kuai finished his tea and set the cup back on the table. He got up easily and stepped around where the other two still sipped theirs. The pot in the center of the table was still warm enough and still had a little left in it. “Finish your tea. I have other matters to attend to at the moment. I will see you both in the morning when this argument will be settled properly.” And he did have matters to attend to but it wouldn’t take all that long. Paperwork mostly, arranging training schedules and deciding when to meet the more advanced students for specialized training. With this new turn on events he planned on staying to his own rooms for the night. Kenshi could use the rest too.

It took perhaps an hour to finish the paperwork on his desk and made what notes he needed in an agenda he kept. He had barely noticed the time go by but now that it was done he needed something to occupy his time. There were some books he could read again and he supposed he could take advantage of the cold to go through his kata in private where he could concentrate without having to worry about accidentally freezing anyone around him. Not that he was out of practice with his innate skill but he often did not have the space to work at the limits of his abilities without risking the life or limbs or his men. If nothing else he learned something new to mull over before bed.

The practicing yard when he retreated to it was devoid of anything living. Even the beasts that lived amongst the trees were long gone or else in hiding from the cold. The snow felt warm against his skin, as he imagined most people might find rain to be. It was only after he was well clear of the temple proper that he unleashed the full measure of his inhuman nature. The skin of his arms turned an icy blue and he heard more than felt crystals form around his feet and up his calves. The trees around him grew a thick layer of ice and the snow stopped feeling so warm. He closed his eyes took a deep breath to control how far out he let the chill went. He could almost see it in his mind’s eye. 

With the chill stretched out as far as he dared he went through the kata he and Bi Han had practiced since they were children. His movements were more fluid than they used to be, the experience of combat tempering the rigidity that the movements originally had. He went through them first with only his bare hands, then again with the ice in his hands to throw, ice blades in his hands of various kinds and mauls. When he finished with the weapons he allowed them to shatter before forming a different set, and even practiced channeling power through them should he ever need to do so. 

He practiced for hours, pouring all of his focus into his kata. He did not notice until he was done that he was being watched from the temple… metaphorically speaking. Kenshi looked cold from where he stood but there was still a smirk on his face. Kuai consciously let go of the deep cold he had conjured and shook off the ice from his skin and boots. The trees would take a little while longer to recover. “Kenshi. You should be preparing for tomorrow. Master Hasashi might be hot headed but he has skill.”

“You did not visit me tonight.”

“I thought you would have preferred the solitude.”

“You thought incorrectly.” 

Kenshi did not move until Kuai had stepped on the stairs, probably because he was harder to hear in the snow. When he did it was to find Kuai’s shoulder and follow his own hand so they stood in front of one another. “I apologize for Hanzo’s display. He means well but has never had a way with words.” 

“It is not I he insulted with his words this day.”

“My words were as much a reminder to myself as an explanation to you.”

“You will remind him of your skill in the morning. I have no doubt about that. For now, however, you must prepare yourself and rest. The sun will rise soon enough and the battle will not be one that is easily won.”

“Perhaps what I need is a means to settle my mind far from the chaos that is Hanzo’s.”

Kuai thought about the relative location of the guest rooms and was mildly impressed that Master Hasashi’s anger could be read from that far away. The man was far from subtle with his actions. He could not imagine his thoughts and emotions would be any harder to read even from the other end of the hallway like their rooms were arranged.

“I cannot guarantee a peaceful night’s rest in my rooms,” he warned, for he knew his dreams sometimes took a turn for the worst, his memories of his time while enslaved to his own clan then to Quan Chi never truly leaving him, “but it will likely be easier to sleep through than whatever Hasashi calls meditation.”

“Thank you. That is all I need.”

“Good. Now let us get you back inside before you fall ill.”

“So quick to take me to your room? What would your students think?”

“That I have the patience of a minor saint for tolerating both you and Cage for prolonged periods of time.”

Kenshi laughed his quiet little laugh but did not relinquish his hold on Kuai’s shoulder. For a moment the cyromancer was confused but decided not to say anything. Whatever the reason was he didn’t mind this touch and it would easier to guide Kenshi inside the temple to his room. It was a bit of a maze, done on purpose to thwart any would be assassins that got passed his human men.

The pair of them ended up navigating it with ease and once inside the small room Kuai was surprised when as soon as he got the door to his room closed the hand on his shoulder moved to the back of his neck as well. He flinched when hot fingers brushed where he remembered that enslavement chip was implanted in his spine. This body was not as his was then. There were no scars from where they had forcibly attached metal and wires to his flesh and encased him in steel. But he still felt the phantom of that agony whenever he came into contact with something of an electrical charge. It was one of many reasons why he chose to avoid fighting Raidan even if it was just a friendly spar. He did not need the nightmares that would come later.

Kenshi’s fingers quickly drew back, his telepathy no doubt picking up on Kuai’s discomfort. “I am sorry,” he said, looking as if he had been slapped unexpectedly, “I did not think. I was not aware that you still had memories from that time.”

“They are faded but there. It is not something I gladly revisit.”

“I understand.”

Finally, someone who understood the meaning of ‘leave it be’. “I apologize. My room must seem cold to you. I can make it warmer if you would like.”

“This is fine. I will simply sleep in my thermals tonight.”

“The bed is low, about knee level, and ten steps in front of where the door is. I have a desk but the chair is tucked in. There is a chest and a book shelf. Neither should be in your way.”

“Thank you.”

Kuai waited until Kenshi went to find the bed, presumably to sit down and remove what armor he had donned earlier. Kuai took the opportunity to change his own clothes into the thin layers he slept in. He didn’t need the warmth but he felt it might be inappropriate to lay in the same bed as Kenshi without wearing something. And should a nightmare take him in the night he would not want the sudden contact of his too cold skin to hurt Kenshi’s already sensitive skin. One more reason why there couldn’t be anything between them despite how much he craved the swordsman’s touch and how Kenshi seemed to welcome the idea.

When he had finished changing and handling his evening routine, Kuai stood next to his bed and considered how they were going to sleep. He had not shared his bed with anyone since he became an adult. Would they sleep on respective sides or was there a certain etiquette to this…? 

“I can sense your fretting without delving into your thoughts,” Kenshi said after a long moment, already settled further back on the bed closer to the wall. “Just lay down to sleep as you normally do and I will figure out a comfortable position around you.” His blindfold rested on a nearby nightstand, tied loosely around Sento. As Kuai used minute and precise jolts of his power to extinguish the candles the glow of those brilliant eyes became his own light source in which to center himself as he drew closer to his own bed.

In the end he lay out on his back underneath one layer of the blankets while Kenshi was curled up tightly in two. Kuai might have felt bad about the cold but soon after he closed his eyes he felt the weight and warmth of Kenshi against his side. Problem solved?


	3. Not A Damsel in Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenshi proves his health and strength and Kuai reminds him that he has a duty beyond the walls of the Lin Kuei temple, a duty that supersedes his wants and desires.

When Kuai awoke the next morning he had been confused by the almost too warm feeling. He did not give off heat in his sleep and he felt like something was laying on his… Oh. Right. Kenshi slept here. And apparently decided to use him to sleep on too. Well, this was a new and interesting experience though Kuai could not say it was one he disliked. Nothing felt numb but he did feel slightly overheated. Next time he’d have to either wear a thinner shirt or else sleep without one. Wait… next time?

His thoughts must have been just a little too loud because barely a moment later he felt Kenshi stir against him. He quickly quieted them and lay still. Startling any Kombatant was a bad idea. Unseeing eyes blinked open and the arms around his chest tightened around his ribs for just a moment. Was he just… cuddled? Is that the word? He had heard it when last he hosted Johnny Cage’s team of children for training and overheard them talking to one another. He had enough dignity not to ask though. He would learn more about it on his own time. He needed to get more in touch with modern cultures if only to understand what Cassie Cage and her father kept making reference to.

How long they lay together, simply enjoying each other’s presence, Kuai did not know but he was certain the sun was up by now or at least rising. “Come. I doubt Master Hasashi has the patience for laziness this morning,” he said quietly to the man in his arms, “and no doubt he still wishes to test your strength.” His voice was rougher than his usual tone with sleep. He felt Kenshi shiver beneath his hand, though doubted it was from the cold.

He removed his arm and Kenshi sighed as it disappeared before turning away and sitting up in the bed. Kuai took the opportunity to get up and start his morning routine. He didn’t watch as Kenshi got up and began to gather his armor and Sento. Hopefully Master Hasashi would either be out of his rooms eating or settling his mind with meditation. Kuai didn’t want to deal with the accusations that would no doubt arise if his rival even thought to come to a conclusion that was wrong… for now. Not that he did not want it to happen but… well. He’d see what the outcome of today’s match was. If Kenshi proved himself strong enough to take down the former Scorpion he would have to rethink his desires and the plausibility of them.

When he was dressed, properly groomed and had settled his mind with his own morning meditations he joined the Lin Kuei that had gathered in their dining hall for breakfast and settled himself at his normal table to eat. He heard many of his men murmuring about the match that was going to happen soon. He didn’t ask how so many knew about it. They were stealthy warriors and word spread quickly amongst their ranks. “Those who wish to bear witness to the match may do so,” he said loudly enough to be heard over the room, which quickly quieted when he began speaking, “but you will be tested afterward in word and skill. Neither man uses a style we do and both are masters of their techniques. To hope to defeat men like them you must be prepared for anything. Theory is all well and good but little compares to the teacher that is experience.” 

When the breakfast was done and the dishes gathered, Kuai Liang and his clan gathered in the sparring arena that was set aside for matches usually within their own ranks. While Kuai settled in his place at the entrance to the arena, the others gathered around the borders, eager to watch. As he had thought the sun was nearing eight o’clock in the morning and shone brightly down over the pair of warriors. Kenshi had combed and styled his hair from the morning and dressed in armor once again, showing no signs that he was ever injured to begin with. Master Hasashi looked calmer than he did yesterday though with a man who could command hellfire that did not mean his anger had abated in the slightest.

Kenshi drew his blade, having been sharpened and cleaned Kuai noticed. “Hanzo,” he said simply, challenging his power into the sword, awakening the spirits within and making it glow blue.

“Admit defeat now, my friend. I would rather not cripple you any further.” Kuai saw some of his students flinch subtly when the Shirai-Ryu summoned flames into his palms. He had seen it too often himself to feel unnerved by it.

“And I would rather not damage your pride before the Lin Kuei but you insist.”

They took their stances and Kuai called on them to fight. The rules of Kombat never changed and were rules they all grew accustomed to. Best of three fights and between friends until their bodies were broken or one yielded. In this place, his home, he would act as the moderator. His pronouncement would be law should there be a disagreement though he doubted there would be. The fate of no realm was in the balance this time. Just the pride of men. It might have been embarrassing to witness had the fighters been lesser quality warriors.

As he watched the first round, the Lin Kuei grandmaster had to admit the pair were fairly evenly matched. As graceful as Kenshi was when he moved Hasashi had more than enough power behind his blows to make redirecting it a challenge. Short swords clattered against Sento or Kenshi’s bracers and more than once each blade found its mark on their opponent’s skin. He prepared himself to freeze any hellfire that Hasashi should throw in this fight or raise a shield to protect a student should that kunai miss its mark. Kenshi’s own telekinesis was tightly controlled.

Kenshi won the first round, a little winded and with some scrapes but still on his feet. Hanzo ended up needing a moment to get up but his thrashing only seemed to make him angrier. The second match was more heated as more emotion motivated the fighters. This time Kuai’s abilities were called for to protect the witnesses but he did not stop the match. He let it continue until Kenshi had taken Hanzo down again, leaving him gasping and coughing up trace amounts of blood into the snow. “Stop,” he said even as Kenshi turned away and sheathed Sento, “Kenshi wins.”

Again it took a few moments for the Shirai-Ryu to get to his feet and while he did his best to appear unharmed it was clear from the way he held himself that his injuries would take time. Before any of the Lin Kuei could say anything Kuai raised his hand to call for silence and they all held their tongues. After Frost’s outburst against Hanzo during the fiasco with Shinnock they wisely learned to trust in his decisions. She had been sullen for weeks after her punishment but had been much better behaved afterward. He was glad.

“Fine. You are well enough to defend yourself,” Hanzo admitted, clearly embarrassed but too proud to let it show in an obvious way, “But as you are healed, then you are well enough to return. I’m sure General Blade could use your skill and welcome your company.”

Kuai took a calming breath at the tone the man used. Either Hasashi was trying to be less than subtle about how uncomfortable he was with his friend spending so much time with the Lin Kuei or he was pointedly saying that Kenshi had other duties elsewhere that needed his attention. As much as Kuai would have liked to keep Kenshi with him until they sorted through whatever their relationship to each other was, the latter point was indeed true. Shinnock’s then Kotal Kahn’s attack had shown that the other realms were unlikely to abide by the rules of Mortal Kombat for much longer and everyone needed to be ready should the time arose.

“My duty is to end the Red Dragon,” Kenshi replied, his voice hard and cold, “I am not part of her Special Forces.”

“No but Takeda is. You will need her permission to take him with you to hunt them down, do you not?”

Kenshi did not bother drawing Sento but was so enraged he easily picked up his friend and held him a good five feet about the ground in a tight psychic grip. “You will not use my son against me, Hasashi.” He threw the man across the courtyard with a sickening crash. “Try to manipulate me like that again and you will test our friendship to its limit.”

This time when Hanzo made to get up, Kenshi’s hands started glowing again but Kuai didn’t let it get far. “Stop,” he growled, gesturing to the masters of the clan to disburse the students and get them to where they needed to be in their training. He barely noticed how they scrambled out of the way. He was too focused on calming Kenshi down. “This is unnecessary. His words hold true. You have duties beyond these walls that you must tend to.” Even if he did not agree with the way Kenshi was going about his revenge.

“You would chase me away, Kuai?”

Here the grandmaster gently took Kenshi’s forearms in his hands, careful not to grab at hands and thus restrain him unnecessarily. He made the man turn to face him so they could speak quietly. “I would not. But neither will I hold you back from what you need to do to avenge your fallen woman. When your quest is done and the blood price is paid for Suchin’s murder then we can consider more long term arrangements for you here.”

Kenshi twisted out of the grip on his forearms and Kuai let him, instead letting his hands rest by his side. He didn’t need to be telepathic to be able to read those handsome features. The anger at the former Scorpion’s mention of Takeda faded but instead there was a sadness in him. He had not been aware that the man was still so affected by Suchin’s death and he hadn’t even truly seen what had been done to her. That made it easier for Kuai to send the man away. He had watched and wanted for a long time in silence. He could do so for a while longer if that was what it took for Kenshi to finally know some kind of peace.

As if sensing his thoughts if not reading them, the swordsman reached up and through his gloves traced the line of Kuai’s temple. If he had been wearing a mask his touch would have traced the straps of it. “I will end them,” he promised, “freeing myself and Takeda from this burden then I will return here. We have much to discuss it seems.”

“Did we not before?”

“Now things have become more complicated.” And Kuai could not argue with that. 

Kenshi had just stepped away when the Lin Kuei looked up to see the look of disbelief and utter disgust on Hanzo Hasashi’s face. As much as he tried to be the man’s friend he had to admit little moments like these still amused him. Perhaps it was childish to enjoy provoking reactions from his rival even if it was unintentional half the time but there was precious little in Earthrealm that still brought him that kind of joy. It was not something he could not bring himself to stop doing any time soon.   
Still he waited until Kenshi stepped back inside, presumably to gather his things, and left the two of them alone in the courtyard before he said anything. “Something bothering you, Hasashi?” He was careful to keep the smile off his face and amusement out of his tone. 

“What have you done to him to corrupt him so?”

“Corrupt? What drivel do you speak of now?”

Hanzo tried to stand straighter though the arm around his middle gave away that he was still wounded. Even with the power of the Netherrealm channeled through him to allow him to wield his hellfire, Kenshi had still left his mark on the man. “He challenges my word but listens to yours. He touches your face as if he is familiar with it!” Hanzo moved closer but Kuai did not shift. He was more than capable of facing this wounded man if it came to that. “You do not have the right to touch him, Lin Kuei scum.”

“And you have any more right than I do, Shirai-Ryu dog? He is his own man, capable of his own decisions. If he chooses to listen to reason, to spend time with the one who does not have the emotional capacity of a child, it is his decision.”

Hanzo raised a hand as if to strike him but held himself back at the last minute. Kuai just stared at him. He wasn’t going to pick a fight with him while wounded in his own temple? Words were one thing. A battle of wits could be set aside if a greater danger presented itself. A winded or wounded warrior was a liability. Even he knew that.

Growling in disgust Hanzo turned away and walked back into the temple to presumably gather his things too so he could leave as soon as the other was ready. Kuai let him go and instead considered how best to address the matter to his warriors. He was sure more than a few would have harsh words for the Shirai-Ryu that he would have to quash quickly. They were rival clans but not enemies. Both were sworn to protect Earthrealm and his warriors would to better to remember that. Maybe an invitation to Hanzo for the clans to meet on neutral ground for a sparring exercise? Once the man calmed down of course. Elder gods only knew how long that would take.  
He met the pair of them by the entrance of the temple, making sure to say goodbye to them. Hanzo may resent him but he was still a host and it would be in poor manners to have the man show himself out of the compound. Besides, he left with Kenshi who had been a good guest while he recovered from his burns. Kenshi deserved the courtesy at the very least. 

When the pair approached he was not surprised to see that it was Kenshi that led the way, a bag of his things over one shoulder and his opposite hand holding it in place. If he knew how closely Hanzo followed behind him he didn’t react but it did not miss Kuai’s attention when those dark human eyes swept over Kenshi’s form while he walked as if checking to make sure he was still the same man who left the Special Forces base those weeks ago. He also suspected a less innocent reason for looking over the man but that he would leave to Kenshi to shut down should he so chose.

“I trust your visit was a pleasant one,” he said they approached and bowed for them, “And know you are welcome to return to us.” Kenshi bowed in response out of respect but Hanzo stayed still even as the pair of them stood. “Safe journey to both of you.”

“I hope that I will return soon,” Kenshi said though it was clear in his tone he doubted it would be the case, “and thank you for your hospitality.”

“It was no trouble.”

Kenshi walked passed him then and Hanzo followed after though when he passed by their eyes met and locked. They did not shake hands but neither did they swipe at each other. All of a sudden Kuai felt a pang of sadness. He and Bi Han, before that damned tournament, had often swiped words and blows with each other as children and young men. As he watched Hanzo go he sighed to himself and pushed the distant memory away. Bi Han was gone. There was no point in wishing he were here, even if the former wraith acted like him sometimes.

He watched until the warriors were long gone before returning into the temple to resume his duties. His warriors no doubt had questions and word had no doubt reached Frost that she had missed Master Hasashi’s short visit to them. He resigned himself to deal with her rage, likely having to fight with her and put her down before she calmed herself. He was the only one in the temple who could match her without harm as they were descended from the same people. The cold did not affect them as it did others. 

But if he stopped by the room Kenshi had occupied during his visit to see if the man had left anything behind in the guest room, his warriors did not need to know. Nor did they need to be aware that there had been a message left behind and a trinket in the shape of the Takahashi crest. He tucked both away in the various pockets of his clothes to look into them later. The message must have been difficult for Kenshi to write, even if he had Sento on his back while he wrote. He would take as much care to read those words as it took Kenshi to write them.

As he predicted, as soon as he joined his warriors who were gathered in formation for the masters to begin their kata, Frost’s less than pleasant voice broke into his thoughts in a near screech of rage. “YOU HID HIM FROM ME?!”

“Frost,” he said pleasantly though he did not look at her, “I trust your training is going well?”

“Don’t change the subject, Grandmaster,” she hissed, “You hid the Shirai-Ryu’s presence from me!” 

“He was here for a matter unrelated to his relations with the Lin Kuei. Your presence was not required.”

“What could he possibly have been here for if it wasn’t to harass us?”

“He was concerned about my guest from the Special Forces. My guest proved his fears were unfounded and they left together not fifteen minutes ago.”

“So he would dare to accuse us of kidnapping? Brainwashing? Torture?”

Why not? “The Lin Kuei have done all of those things in the past. It is not without precedent.” Though not his Lin Kuei. Not since he had been freed from the metal and wires that had enslaved him, eliminated Sektor himself and purged the Lin Kuei that could not be saved from their mechanized forms. 

“We are not our predecessor!”

“He does not care. A lifetime of battling us have ingrained a deep hatred in his soul. He may no longer be the wraith known as Scorpion but the fires of Hell have not completely tempered within him.” 

Frost unleashed a snarl of rage and without thinking Kuai froze her feet to the floor which she stood. “Stop. It. You are Lin Kuei, Frost. Behave like it. We do not let our emotions cloud our judgement in battle or out of it.”

She blinked her disbelief at him but after taking several deep breaths managed to calm herself. He released her then and turned back to watch the men already seeing the way the match was influencing some of their forms. A few tried to move with Kenshi’s smooth movements, likely not realizing the swordsman mixed tai chi with his style and a couple more tried to put the same punishing power into their movement as Hasashi had. He sighed and went about gently correcting them. He’d have to ask Kenshi, if and when he returned from his mission, to show them how to properly balance fluidity with strength. It was a talent he had yet to master himself.

After the men finished with their base kata, they moved on to practice with weapons and skills that men in general had better skill with. He watched them for a few moments before he had Frost guide him to where the women were practicing their own talents, their weapons and kata slightly different to balance better to their strengths. His brother’s Lin Kuei had never had room for women warriors, claimed they were too distracting for the men. Kuai knew better. 

As most of the women had not been amongst those gathered to watch Kenshi and Hanzo fight, they were better at holding their forms than most of the men were. He would have praised them for it if they weren’t doing exactly as they were expected to. He had never been one for pandering or undue praise. It was what made his warriors formidable and gave him a reputation for being cold and stoic amongst them (beyond his half cyromancer heritage). Frost would no doubt learn this in time. She was still young, young enough to be his daughter. She had more than enough time.

When they went to repeat them Kuai returned inside to look into some budget reports he needed to look into, including a supply caravan for the materials they would need that they couldn’t grow, weave or otherwise create himself. Their location was remote and difficult to reach at the best of times. The usual means he used was to send out a dozen or so young warriors with some vehicles that could handle the chill of the mountains to get to the cities and villages where they could get the materials. It required a fair bit of coordination to ensure no one got lost nor any of the shipments got damaged. 

He had been in the middle of deciding the warriors to send to get the steel for new weapons (as they had a forge on the temple grounds but no raw materials) when he heard the door to his office open without a knock. He looked up to see who it was and was unsurprised to see Frost. He turned back to his papers then. He could work and chat with her if he had to. “Frost. What can I do for you? Have your warriors completed their exercises?”

“You could answer me honestly, Grandmaster. Why did you hide the presence of the Shirai-Ryu from me?”

“You would have picked a fight that we could ill afford to have with them. As I said both we and they are sworn to protect Earthrealm. In that at least we are allies.”

“And our Special Forces guest? Why did I not know of them?”

“I did not see a reason to inform you. He was wounded in the battle with Shinnock and the Revenants. After the last of our dead were mourned, he had still not recovered well enough to walk without crutches. I brought him here to recover properly.”

“Could he not recover with them?”

“Master Takahashi is a sensitive telepath. Surrounded by military forces he could never let his guard down as he faced a near constant bombardment of thoughts and emotions from those around him. We of the Lin Kuei are more at peace if not calmer. He could rest properly here where he could not there.”

Frost’s stare made him look up to meet her eyes, dark like his hair but her hair as blue as his eyes. It was an interesting difference and one that betrayed her inhuman heritage more than his eyes did. He held her gaze for a while, letting her try to read what she wanted to from his features. Eventually she looked away and folded her arms over her chest. “I would like to be informed next time Grandmaster. I am not an unruly child and do not need to be treated as such.”

“Your behavior earlier today disproves that statement.”

She opened her mouth, likely to say something more but decided against it and stormed out.


	4. Dragons and Knights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years pass and the Lin Kuei gain frost dragon mounts. Kenshi returns older but finally free. Kuai hopes that now they'll finally have a chance to talk about their relationship.

Years passed. Kuai Liang almost forgot about the promise Kenshi made. He focused instead on finding the means to better the Lin Kuei for their skill with the martial arts alone wouldn’t be enough to face the beasts and creatures of Netherrealm and Outworld. So he searched the farthest reaches of the coldest corners of Outworld and eventually found a female dragon who had a clutch of nearly ready to hatch eggs. He retrieved some of his most skilled warriors to restrain her while he channeled his cold into her eggs and hatched them. The mother dragon, in her maternal anger, might have killed the men who restrained her if he hadn’t shown her the hatched eggs and the healthy little dragons that had been born. She calmed and Kuai told his men to release her. With the confidence of a little dragon sitting on his shoulder he spoke to her with all the reverence she deserved… and she, in turn, accepted his offer that she and her children be trained as combat mount in defense of Earthrealm.

The Lin Kuei Temple was large enough to hide a large cavern in which she and the dragonlings lived while they grew and learned in the care of the Lin Kuei. In a way they both made things easier and became more complicated. Dragons were large and hungry creatures and while the forests were ripe enough with game for humans, dragons could easily eat in one day what might take a human two weeks. Some amongst the Lin Kuei, those chosen to join from farming backgrounds, were made responsible for raising the livestock specifically to feed their mounts. It would not do for the humans beyond their borders to be made aware of something they were unprepared to deal with… yet again.

 

By the time the dragons were trained well enough to be useful and the most skilled amongst his clan were bonded to their mounts, nearly a decade had passed. His hair had grown a little more grey with time and he had trimmed it back if only to keep it from getting caught in a mask if he needed to wear one or fitting uncomfortably under a hood. Yet he remained as skilled as ever and he made sure his men never had reason to question to question it. 

He had just returned from a training exercise with his men one day when he was told he had a guest waiting for him in the main room. More curious than wary he had taken his time to settle his frost dragon and set her free before stepping inside to greet his guest. He was certain his guest had been shown the common decency of something warm to drink while they waited. He had to admit when he stepped inside he had not been expecting to see Kenshi of all people, his grey hair a little lighter and his beard freshly trimmed. His usual red and black armor bore the markings of an intense battle and there were still some places where the blade or bullet had cut through it completely to reach the skin underneath. Yet if he had been wounded he had since recovered from it. 

In his hand he held a cup of warm tea and had been sipping at it carefully when Kuai had stepped inside. So it was still hot which meant he hadn’t been waiting overly long. “I promised I would be back,” Kenshi said, his tone light but his stance weary as if he carried the weight of something heartbreaking still, “And it is done. Finally. Takeda and I are free.”

“Then why do you look as if you are still burdened by her passing?”

“I had only wanted to kill Daegon, their leader. But his men are loyal. My blade slaughtered many before I even had the chance to get close to him.”

“That you do not take their deaths lightly is a good thing.” That he had slaughtered so many, however, was not. It invited more into this endless cycle of vengeance where each son or daughter, husband or wife, mother or father of a fallen Dragon could paint themselves as the victim and they would not be wrong. “So you have come here to settle your mind?” It would take more than mediation to ease the burden of that much death. Kuai would know. He hadn’t been merciful as a revenant.

“And to discuss where we left off when I left all those years ago.”

Kuai tilted his head and really looked at Kenshi, trying to read what he could from his body. With all those layers on he looked like a tired warrior, having fought through a great number of enemies and only now finding the time to rest. Underneath all that… Well. There was time to discuss it after Kenshi had gotten some kind of sleep. “We can talk after you’ve rested,” he said purposely gentling his tone, “Your travels have not been easy.”

“They inherently could not be but both Takeda and I are fine. He has returned to Master Hasashi and the Shirai-Ryu a little wiser but lighter.”

Kuai waited until Kenshi was done with his cup of tea before gently taking his arm to guide him through the temple. There were no quarters prepared for him, not yet anyway, as his visit was unexpected so Kuai thought to take Kenshi to his own room and let the man sleep there while he went about his duties for the remainder of the day. He had a few students he needed to test to be able to move them to the appropriate rank and assign them to their next masters. A couple of them, if they proved themselves, would be sent as part of an exchange program he had arranged with Hasashi two years ago as both a sign of their alliance and to allow their warriors to grow and learn as fighters. They were eager to learn.

As soon as the door to his bedroom was closed behind him, it seemed, all the strength Kenshi had been using to hold himself together failed him. He all but collapsed onto Kuai’s bed, his arm around his middle while the other pressed against his forehead. A building headache then. Knowing the man was vulnerable like this Kuai made sure to make some noise as he stepped closer and then knelt on the floor before the other man. “Please,” he said, “allow me to take care of this for you. Your long journey is at an end. You need rest.”

Kenshi didn’t argue with him. Let him take each hand to unlace the bracers and slip off the gloves, making sure Kenshi heard where he set each item down. Then went the heavy boots and socks, the feet within them swollen from too much time and weight kept on them. He coaxed Kenshi to stand then so he could remove the harness that held Sento’s ornate sheathe and the heavy outer jacket which he draped over the back of a nearby chair for now before returning to his task as Kenshi once again all but flopped back on the bed. 

With each piece that came off, the less of a warrior Kenshi seemed and more just a tired man. Kuai wondered if they all looked like that at the end of the day, just weary old men who fought because they had been given no other choice all their lives. At last the last piece of armor came off and Kuai made sure to set it aside and out of the way with the rest. He would have to retrieve the stand for Sento later. For now he tucked it under the bed where Kenshi could not accidentally step on it when he awoke. The remainder of his layers Kuai left on him if only so that he could keep some semblance of warmth while he slept. “Do you want to keep the blindfold on?” he asked quietly, almost certain Kenshi was asleep by then.

“Yes. Just for now. I won’t sleep long, I promise.”

And Kuai knew that was going to be a lie but accepted the man’s words anyway. “Then get underneath the covers and rest. I will come back for you when dinner is ready.”  
Kenshi groaned but shifted around and did as he was asked, burrowing himself in the blankets Kuai had so meticulously kept folded neatly over the bed. He was half tempted to take the blindfold off anyway if only so make it less likely that Kenshi would end up rolling over it and pulling at the tails of the knot in his sleep but he let the man deal with the consequences of his decision instead. It was only when the swordsman had settled down and was clearly already drifting off that Kuai ran his fingers through the lighter silver hair at the man’s temple in a soothing gesture. He had missed Kenshi.

He didn’t even notice the faint smile that touched his face until after he left his quarters and nearly ran into Frost, who stared at him like he had lost his mind. His unconscious smile quickly faded into a frown. “What is it?”

She blinked out of her trance. “Who was the guest?”

“Kenshi. He will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. He has returned from a long journey and needs some time to settle with what he has learned.”

“Shall I have the men prepare a room for him?”

“Yes but use the unused room across from mine. He is not a recruit to the Lin Kuei and has more than enough skill to match my rank.”

“Where is he now?”

“He is sleeping in my bed for the moment. He needs silence and solitude. Make sure the men who prepare the room keep their thoughts sealed. I imagine Kenshi’s control over his telepathy is frayed somewhat and overly loud or emotionally driven thoughts might wake him from his much needed rest.”

The hallway they had met in grew icy within seconds and Kuai gathered some of his own power down his arms. “Calm down. Now. If this needs to be a fight it will be outside. Am. I. Clear.”

She took a deep breath then jerked her head toward where he knew the sparring arena was. Fine. She had been getting uppity recently anyway. He would be glad to have the excuse to put her back in her place. She was skilled, almost on par with him when it came to her talent with ice, but she still had much to learn to realistically have a chance in Mortal Kombat should she be called upon to participate in it. Earthrealmers tended to hold back when they fought their own kind, unwilling to kill if it was deemed unnecessary. Warriors of the other realms did not care one whit about such things. She would need to learn to be just as ruthless if she needed to be.

Out of the corner of Kuai’s eye he saw some of the other warriors gather by the edges of the Temple, presumably to watch their little contest. He didn’t care. Let them see the truth of it. “I do not know what your problem is with Takahashi Kenshi, Frost, but this needs to end. Now.”

“And your fascination with him needs to end. You are the last man of your kind. You should have a woman by your side to grant you the sons to carry your line.”

Ah so that was the root of it. Kuai summoned his ice energy down his arms and around his feet. Snow that had been falling lightly fell harder as it froze more solidly. “You are out of line, student,” he said, drawing ice into his hand and crushing it, “You will remember your place.”

Frost threw the first column of ice at him and he caught it against his bracers with ease, already anticipating her next attack. She was fast and strong but she was driven by emotion and that made her attacks predictable. With strategy perhaps she might have a better chance at besting him but she was too enraged right now to think clearly. Her conjured ice blades were easily shattered when he parried them and counter hit her hard enough to throw her several feet before she caught herself. Again she launched herself at him, ice covering her fist. This time he stepped out of the way and struck down at her back, causing her to hit the ground hard enough for a loud crack to be heard.

“We are both the last of our kind, Frost,” he told her, waiting patiently for her to get up and come at him again, “and as such I will teach you what I can of your power. But my duty to our people ends there. If I was meant to take a wife and be granted sons the Elder Gods would have set such a path in motion long ago.” 

Frost got to her feet again and took several deep breaths, just staring at him before she took a defensive stance. Fine. He could go on the offense if he wanted. But he did not throw an ice column like she had to try and obscure. Instead he conjured an ice blade, a skill she did not yet have the talent for, and charged her. She tried to block the blow with her daggers over her bracers but the daggers shattered and although the bracers took he hit he heard her cry of pain. He would not go easy on her. She chose this fight. Only she could end it. 

He pulled his blade back before it bit through the bracers and struck at her again and again, forcing her to move quickly to defend herself. He let her think he had a rhythm to it and when she anticipated his next attack, he released the sword and struck her from the other side, planting his first firmly in her side. He felt her rib crack beneath his fingers and sending her flying into a tree near the edges of the arena. Again Kuai waited for her to get up and this time it took longer. “Stand down, Frost. You are out classed and outmatched.” He needed still needed her alive.

She got to her feet eventually, her arm around her damaged ribs, her breathing heavy and her eyes angry. But her body could not sustain her anger so as she staggered forward he stood down. He motioned for a pair of those watching to go help her. “Attack me again within my own temple and you will be cast out from the Lin Kuei. Do not test my resolve on this. Your skill makes you talented but talent alone does not grant one a place amongst us. Meditate on this matter while your wounds are tended to. It is now up to you to decide your own fate.”

He turned away and returned inside the temple to go to his desk and go back to his work. He did not need to look behind him to know that his men would do as he directed and so left them to it. It was not the first time someone had to injure Frost that badly to get through her stubbornness. He just hoped, on this matter at least, it would be the first and last time. His private affairs were his own. What did it matter to the rest of them?

Unlike the previous grandmaster he had not forbidden them from speaking to each other or being friends. And if a pair of them spent time together in an intimate way… so long as it did not interfere with their duties he did not care. More than once he had heard gossip and rumors circulating about one or two of his warriors in bed together. The only ones he bothered looking into were when there was a large enough difference in rank or position that coercion was something of a concern. But his warriors knew better than to take advantage of one another like that. The last fool who had tried had been taken to the courtyard, tried, and when too many warriors spoke out against him, was executed by being frozen from the inside out. He had spent too long under the manipulative command of another to tolerate it in his own clan.

But it was something to consider, now that the matter had been brought up. If Kenshi was going call the temple his home, how would the warriors address him? He was not part of the Lin Kuei but he would live amongst them, eat with them, and if Kuai had any say in the matter train with them if not actually teach those who had learned everything else proper techniques for dealing with psychic opponents or perhaps his signature style. He’d have to wear a different uniform at least. Perhaps a black version of their uniform with blue trim in some places? A light blue across his eyes, maybe closer to the same color they glowed when they were exposed, would make a nice touch.

When Kuai settled at his desk he took a deep breath and closed his eyes to settle his thoughts and refocus them toward his work. There were accounts to deal with and now that they were known for their dragon mounts alliances with new organizations to carefully consider. Each contract was long and full of fine print that he had to read through carefully to ensure his clan would not be ensnared into some kind of trap to turn them against their purpose. More than a few he had caught such snares in and he had burned the contract before sending the ashes back in an envelope with a sternly worded reply about the Lin Kuei now knowing who was considered trustworthy.

He had been at it for so long he had almost forgotten about dinner until one of his men helpfully brought him a tray with enough food for two on it. “We did not want to disturb your guest, Grandmaster,” the warrior said as he waited by the doorway, “but thought you might want to share a meal with him regardless.”

“Thank you,” he said to the warrior, who set the tray down and bowed before closing the door again. After a moment he went to stand, hating how his joints ached and creaked and popped. He wasn’t that old yet, was he? Or had he just been sitting for too long? His candles spoke of him reading the contracts for a few hours at least. It might be a combination of the two. He stretched out his legs and rubbed at his aching knees to ease the stiffness of them before he went to collect the tray and take it back to his rooms. The men who might have been in the hallway either scattered or had found somewhere else to be during this time. Fine. Until this relationship mess has been settled he would have rather not had an audience anyway.

He had tried to move at least somewhat silently into his own bedroom but he had known as he set the tray down at the desk and found a box of matches to light some candles to see by he wasn’t. Kenshi stirred as he lit the first one, then used it to find the oil lamp set into the wall of the room. “Good evening, Kenshi,” he said softly, “I hope you had a good sleep.”

“I did,” Kenshi said as he sat up and stretched out his back and arms. The blindfold, having twisted in his sleep, irritated him enough that he finally pulled the damn thing off. “Though there was a flare of anger in the temple that pierced even through my dreams. Did Hanzo find out I was here again?” He reached out to set it aside on a bed stand that did not exist so Kuai took the strip and cloth and made sure to let his knuckles knock against the surface he set the material down on.

“No, not this time. One of my apprentices was getting uppity again. I had to put her back in her place.”

“You didn’t kill her, I hope.”

“She did not offend me that severely. She merely needed a few weeks with broken bones to remind her she has much to learn before she can hope to be a match for warriors of our caliber.”

Kenshi sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, clearly still a little bit tired but more enticed by the smell of food at the moment. “What was the fight about this time? Did her dragon like you better or something?”

Kuai saw no point in lying to Kenshi though he kept his gaze on the table as he brought the food tray over and began to set it. “She was upset because you were sleeping in bed instead of her. Claimed it was my duty to have children by another cyromancer if only to ensure our kind would not die out.”

“So her issue is that I am a man or that I am human?”

“A bit of both I imagine. Either way it is a settled matter. Come. Sit. The food is still warm enough for you I think.”

He settled down just as Kenshi joined him rubbing what sleep remained out of his sightless eyes. “She is perhaps the loudest voice but she will not be the only one to say such things.”

“They do not know of what they speak. I do not take their words too seriously.”

“But what if they are right? Perhaps you should take a lady wife.”

“I am far too old to be concerned about such things as children to continue my line. Besides, I already have a token that has all but betrothed me to someone I met several years ago. One who wrote me a carefully worded letter in a hand that had clearly not drawn Chinese characters in quite some time.”

“Now how can you tell that?”

“The strokes were shaky. Some of them were slurred together or did not make sense initially.”

Kenshi looked embarrassed and opened his mouth to say something but Kuai instead tapped the man’s nose with a set of chopsticks. “That does not mean I did not read the note you left Kenshi. I cannot wear the crest openly, not here in the compound, but it is on my person at all times. Now eat before your food gets cold.” He smiled when the man grabbed the chopsticks still resting on his nose with an irritated look. 

They ate mostly in silence, Kenshi too tired and Kuai too hungry to keep up small talk until the dishes were picked clean and there was nothing left but luke warm tea in the small pot to fill their bellies. Kenshi seemed to especially enjoy the tea. Kuai was glad. It was a new blend from the west that one of the newer Lin Kuei recruits and recommended. He was told that it helped humans feel as if they were warmed from the inside. To Kuai, who chilled the drink, it was just a delightfully exotic taste on his tongue.

“You know, Grandmaster Liang,” Kenshi started after another long moment of silence, “it occurs to me that I have nothing of yours to carry with me. Not a symbol of the Lin Kuei but of you personally. A noble knight must always have a token of affection from his lady.” 

“… You have spent much time in the west. Or at least your ancestors have.”

“Does not make the sentiment any less true. Especially when you carry something of mine.”

“So are you the noble knight or am I?”

“Cannot both be true?”


	5. Touched in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuai and Kenshi have sex for the first time and Kuai takes Kenshi to meet his dragon. Mothers always know best.

After the meal was finished and Kuai Liang finished his duties for the night it was time to prepare for sleep. It had been years since the last time Kuai shared his bed with the man. He could remember the warmth of the other man’s body but little else. Perhaps that was the only reason why he was so apprehensive? It was the only explanation he had for his own nervousness though it was clear Kenshi had no such anxiety. He may be older but clearly experience was the better teacher and the Elder Gods knew of Kenshi’s extensive experience.

Still he took a deep breath and counted as he exhaled if only to calm himself. If Kenshi noticed he said nothing, just settled against the wall again. It was sad to see as Kuai knew such a habit intimately. Only a man used to getting stabbed in the back by those he once trusted would protect his back even in sleep. He promised himself that above all others he would be the one to shield Kenshi from those who would wish him harm. He didn’t care whose side they were on. If they were an enemy of his beloved they were an enemy of his.

He changed out his day clothes and contemplated something to wear to sleep beyond just the comfortable pants he typically wore to sleep. It seemed inappropriate to sleep without something to cover his chest but he remembered overheating slightly last time. Maybe just the thinnest sheet would work? Just enough to separate them without adding too many layers to trap the human’s warmth against him? Ah, that plan would simply have to do. If he hesitated too long it would invite mockery he simply didn’t have the patience to deal with at the moment. 

After carefully putting out the candles about the room, Kuai pulled up the blankets on his side and carefully slipped underneath one of them. He half expected to find Kenshi settled underneath both in a means to keep warm. Instead when he closed his eyes and settled to sleep on his back, Kenshi shifted in the bed next to him and lay on top of him instead. But whereas Kuai expected to feel a blanket separating their touch he felt only the warmth of Kenshi’s bare hand against his chest. His eyes blinked open in surprise and Kenshi sensed it.

“I am sorry,” he said but did not move his hand from where it rested, “Is this too forward?”

“I worry your hand will lose feeling. I will sometimes unconsciously chill myself if I become too warm.”

Kenshi’s laugh was far from tired and when he lifted his head Kuai could only see the glowing blue of his eyes in the darkness of the room. He felt the bed shift and the blankets shift with it as the warm body moved from his side to settle over his pelvis. His instinct told him to fight the man off, to hold him down before he brought some unseen blade down to kill him, but he viciously silenced it by resting his twitching hands over the thin cloth that covered Kenshi’s strong thighs. For a human of his age there was still considerable strength in him still, a wiry strength.

He almost jumped at the feeling of a warm hand against his cheek, tracing down along his jawline into his beard. He felt more than saw Kenshi draw near and closed his eyes when their lips met for the first time in years. He had almost forgotten the sensation of their lips pressing together, the way the whiskers of their beards caught on one another and let a low rumble roll through his chest as he adjusted his grip on the other man. Kenshi seemed to like the way he was holding him because he moved into the touches and settled himself more firmly on Kuai, fingers entangling in still thick hair. Their kiss deepened and became hungry in a way Kuai hadn’t known before. He didn’t think as he rolled them over and removed Kenshi’s hands from his hair, pinning them over his head and using his weight around the man’s hips to keep him in place.

Kenshi almost purred beneath him. “I knew there was an animal behind that cold façade.” Kuai may have growled in response that only pulled a quiet chuckle that quickly turned into a gasp as he leaned in and kissed the infuriating man breathless. The blankets that rested against his back fell away and if he were human he might have shivered. Instead he barely noticed it as he focused on kissing his way along Kenshi’s jaw and down his warm neck, feeling the fluttering of a pulse beneath his cool lips. “You are not as innocent as I thought,” he gasped as Kuai used his free hand to slip under his sleeping shirt, “You have more skill than I would have thought of one who has not known a lover’s touch.”

Kuai did not answer him but instead sat back to pull the shirt from the man’s body, to leave him as bare chested as Kuai himself. The hands he released were on him again almost as soon as his lips and hands returned to warm skin over hard muscle. His fingers brushed many scars on the warrior’s body, some sensitive and some old and numb. He felt fingers in his hair again, encouraging him to touch and kiss some but move away from others. He could feel heat radiating from some that were still raw. He avoid those as he traveled down his lover’s body to pull at the strings of the pants he still wore. 

Suddenly the hands that so encouraged him before grabbed at him and turned him over back to their original position. “I would see you, Kuai,” Kenshi said softly, intimately, as he traced Kuai’s neck gently “As you would see me in the light of the morning sun.”

So Kuai held still and let Kenshi’s hands trace over his body again as they did so long ago, this time tracing new scars and skin that had before been covered by his vest. When his fingers had traced low enough he felt Kenshi bend and follow where his fingers went with his lips. Kuai closed his eyes to focus on the sensations and consciously rested his hands on Kenshi’s thighs again to focus on something other than the heat that traced such intricate and nonsensical designs. He was not like some of the other elementals that had designs of their element traced in their skin but under Kenshi’s touch he almost felt like he did. Maybe that was the way the man saw him?

Then the blankets were knocked back completely and Kenshi shifted further down on the bed, those hot hands pulling at the ties of his sleep pants until they loosened and then pulling all of the cloth away. Kuai hadn’t noticed how hard he had become under the ministrations of his soon-to-be lover until he was exposed, the coolness of the room sharply contrasting the warmth of the body over him. His hands traced Kenshi’s flank and back, finding a few more scars until they came to rest on his hair and that warmth and heat that traced the rest of him hovered over this too.

Gentle fingers traced the length of him and he held in the gasp, instead inhaling deeply. Kenshi smiled and Kuai knew it as he felt those lips curl against his most sensitive skin. “No need to silence yourself,” he whispered, hands tracing lower to spread Kuai’s legs and settle them around his shoulders, “Not on my behalf at least.”

“You… you have done this often then have you?”

“Not with a man but you are not my first.”

That did not make Kuai feel any better about this but any remaining thoughts he had scattered when wet warmth the likes of which he had only heard about enveloped him. His fingers tightened in Kenshi’s hair he was sure to a painful degree but as he covered his mouth with his other hand to avoid crying out too loudly and drawing the attention of the others. One hot arm rested over his lower stomach, the sharp nails biting into his skin and leaving delicious sparks of pain to mix with the pleasure flooding his system.

He might have lost himself to the pleasure of it had he been a lesser man but he was Lin Kuei above all else and as such he was able to focus through even this fog. He eased his grip from Kenshi’s hair and instead tugged on it lightly to get him to sit up. No sooner had Kenshi complied with the request than Kuai had sat up with him, adjusting how he was sitting so he was the one now placing kisses against hot skin and his fingers began to undo the chords of Kenshi’s sleep pants. Hot fingers wound themselves tightly in his hair and he heard every low moan and hitched breath as he pulled the material away from hot skin to reveal his lover as he was meant to be.

“I wish I had left a candle a alight to see you by,” he said against Kenshi’s abs, his hands finally cupping the man’s firm, meaty ass he had heard so many fawn over when they thought he wasn’t listening, “But this will do for now.”

He could feel the other man’s hot hardness against his shoulder and although he did not think he had the skill or patience to try to do for Kenshi what he man did for him he did know enough of how this was supposed to go to lean back and take the man’s length in his palm. He concentrated on keeping his instinct to chill the heat back and instead just enjoy the sensation of hot, hard, velvety skin against his palm. He felt Kenshi’s hand in his hair tighten and press him against his stomach. Kuai looked up to find glowing blue eyes watching him under hooded lids… or at least staring in his direction.

He tightened his grip and quickened his pace, listening for more gasps and moans of pleasure. Eventually Kenshi let go of his hair and knocked him back and away, settling over him and taking his mouth in more hot, wet kisses while he ground their bodies together. The friction felt as delicious as Kenshi tasted and Kuai let instinct overtake him as he firmly grabbed the thick globes of Kenshi’s ass to guide his movements. How long they remained like that, hovering on the edge of pleasure, Kuai could not say but when they both reached their climax, gripping tightly to each other and Kenshi moaning his name into his ear, Kuai had to admit the sex was worth getting overheated and sticky. 

They simply lay together for a bit, Kenshi a welcome weight on his chest as their bodies cooled from the sweat and other sticky materials. He held the man close and even turned his head so his nose brushed his now lover’s ear. After a while though he felt Kenshi shiver and let the man sit up if only to remove the rest of his clothes and get up for something. He opened his mouth to say that it would be unwise to leave the room as he was but Kenshi spoke before he could. “I am merely retrieving a wash cloth I used earlier. Cleaning up now makes it less uncomfortable in the morning.”

He supposed that was true so he said nothing and waited as Kenshi returned, his footsteps certain as he walked. A hiss in the dark told him that the cloth was cold to human touch. It had felt nice against his skin when he cleaned himself off and handed it back to Kenshi to presumably return it. He heard some water splashing a moment later and then the padding of footsteps returning. He smiled when he felt his lover return to his bed and pull up the blankets over them. “Do not look to me to keep you warm,” he warned even as Kenshi lay on him again.

“Only in my dreams, it seems.”

Kuai sighed but let it go for now. He was tired and he got the impression Kenshi was too. If his men had heard anything they would be wise to not act like it. Yet it was something he could consider in the morning when he had rested.

When morning came he was almost taken by surprise by it. The light felt brighter now and the room warmer by its light. He stretched without thinking, feeling oddly well rested for once, and accidentally woke up the man who was sleeping on his chest. Kenshi yawned as he awoke slowly, rubbing at his exposed eyes for a moment before quickly closing and covering them with his hand. Kuai didn’t need to be told what he needed and reached for the nearest strip of cloth to hand him. He didn’t notice that the cloth he grabbed was not Kenshi’s normal red blindfold but rather a blue cloth that the warriors used at the waist of their uniforms. If Kenshi noticed he did not question it, just quickly covered his eyes with the material. It was rather fetching if Kuai said so himself.

He got up as Kenshi composed himself again to put on his sleep clothes and go about his morning routine. He felt better, lighter, than usual. Younger even. What was this witchcraft? He knew Kenshi was a telepath but that was the extent of his power. Age regression was something not even the most powerful sorcerers of Outworld had figured out. 

“I am many things, Kuai, but I am definitely no witch.”

Kuai blinked out of his thoughts and frowned as he gathered his things to begin his mourning routine and start the day. “I do not recall giving your permission to read my thoughts.” He in truth wasn’t that angry about it. Just annoyed at being so easily startled.

“I am sorry. I was trying to make sure you did not regret what we did together last night.”

Regret? What was there to regret? They perhaps should have discussed more about their relationship first, decided how they would proceed from here and thus what Kenshi’s place in the temple would be if he was not one of the Lin Kuei but Kuai could not bring himself to say that he regretted a moment from the night before even if it was unexpected. He set aside his supplies by the door and walked back to the bed to kiss the man still sitting half-clothed in it. Kenshi purred and gave into the touch and for a long moment they enjoyed their kiss. 

“There is nothing to regret,” Kuai said as he leaned away, watching Kenshi’s face and expressions, “Not a single moment. But after we dress and eat we do need to discuss a few things. If you are to stay with us, we must find a place for you, even if you are not of the Lin Kuei.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“Good. Now you might want to dress before you leave the room. I would not want any of the students getting jealous.”

“Why would they be jealous of you? They should be jealous of me.”

“I am sure several are.” Frost the most amongst them. He was not looking forward to when she recovered enough to go back to training and no doubt saw Kenshi amongst them still. Speaking of which. “If you’ll permit me, I can have some of my men take the measurements for your armor and have a new set made for you in our colors.”

He could almost see Kenshi blinking beneath the sash-turned-blindfold before he got up and went back to his things. “Why? I am not part of the clan.”

“No but the mountains are cold and your armor may not be warm enough.” He didn’t want to mention just yet his idea to keep Kenshi as a teacher. He would let the man recover properly from his travels first before giving him some kind of work to do. “Now it would be best if you were to get up and get started with your day. If breakfast is not already served it will be served shortly.” And he would take the opportunity then to address the whole clan about the matter of Kenshi staying. He already had a plan for anyone who would try to protest it though their lesson would not be nearly as severe as Frost’s. The girl could take the punishment. She was a cyromancer technically.

After completing his routine for the morning, including making sure the vest covered the unintended claw marks Kenshi left on his skin that still burned delightfully when he pressed them accidentally, Kuai met with the rest of the clan in their mess hall. The cooks brought him his breakfast and he requested a second one be prepared for the seat next to him. “My guest should be by shortly.” The cooks bowed and did as he asked, only finishing setting the second place a few seconds before Kenshi walked in. 

Normally Kuai would be annoyed when the men openly stared at something but this morning he could make an exception. Kenshi did not wear his armor today into the mess hall but civilian clothing well suited to him. Fitted dark washed jeans looked warm even from here and the black turtle neck was thick but soft looking. The blue of his blindfold made the silver of his hair stand out but rather than making him look old the color gave him a more dignified air. Perhaps he would refrain from giving the man a uniform if he kept wearing outfits like this. The more casual civilian look suited him well.

But he tore his eyes away before the others did, focusing on his breakfast. Kenshi joined him a moment later, his hand finding the back of his chair easily before he moved it and carefully took a seat. He waited until conversation amongst the men started back up again before saying anything. “Was it something I said?”

Kuai shrugged as he munched on a piece of fruit. “They are not used to seeing guests dress out of armor here.” That and Kenshi’s looks had not gone unnoticed despite his age. But he doubted he needed to inflate the man’s ego about that. He was quite certain he would learn about it sooner rather than later. Most of those gathered knew how to seal their thoughts but there were a few who had not yet mastered the skill, according to Takeda. 

Kenshi shrugged and dug into his meal, clearly hungry even though he had eaten the day before. The Lin Kuei grandmaster did not doubt that he had spent a long time on rations and simple meals and was likely too tired the day before truly enjoy his food. Now that he was more awake he seemed to be savoring every piece. Even though he had not cooked the meal himself Kuai couldn’t help but feel a little spark of pride. At least a man of international tastes such as Kenshi found their food as delicious and satisfying as anything he had found in the outside world.

When the food was done and the plates gathered, Kuai Liang finished the last of his tea and turned to Kenshi. “If you have a thick jacket it, bring it. I would introduce you to my dragon.” If there was any soul alive he would trust to look out for him it would be his dragon. She and her dragonlings chose to serve the Lin Kuei though she and her children could have easily eaten them all if they wanted. But she saw the truth of his soul, of those Lin Kuei chosen by her children. She may not be able to see into Kenshi’s eyes but surely she wouldn’t need to.

Kenshi went to retrieve his armored jacket, which looked odd without all the bracers and other weaponry, and together the pair of them ventured out and up the mountain to the cavern where the dragons rested. Kuai knew from just their cries the names of each of the dragons flying overhead and watched them fly ahead to no doubt warn their mother. He wondered if his own mother was still alive and if she would have preferred a warning for any impending visits so she could prepare her home for him. It was pointless to think about but sometimes he could not help the stray thoughts that flitted across his mind.

The cavern was warmer than the open mountainside but not by much. Kuai knew even without turning that Kenshi’s cheeks and nose would be rosy from the cold. His blindfold covered most of his ears anyway. The dragons all turned when the pair of them stepped inside, the younger dragons watching with what seemed like fascination. His dragon, by far the largest of them, seemed to look down her snout at him. He almost felt judged by the creature.

“They are… different,” Kenshi ended up saying, reaching out with one hand toward the gathered group while another touched his forehead. Kuai had no doubt he was trying to read their thoughts. “Intelligent. Strong. Proud. They suit the Lin Kuei well.” One of the younger dragons made a curious sound and stepped closer, its head tilting like a curious dog. Kenshi’s stance shifted though he did not reach for his blade. His hand went up as if to meet the creature’s snout. “And so tall!”

“They are dragons.”

“What color are they?”

“A pale green or blue depending on the dragon.”

The dragon in front of Kenshi bent its neck a little so his hand could rest on its snout. He seemed startled by the sudden feeling of cold scales beneath his hand but quickly adapted. He moved slowly to pet the animal’s snout and Kuai smiled when the dragon sat down and moved so that Kenshi could better pet her snout.  
Kuai looked to his dragon who shifted closer and leaned down to really get a look at the man Kuai had brought her. She tilted her head this way and that eventually reaching over his head to sniff at Sento in its sheath. Kenshi let her do it, though Kuai could see he was tense and ready to roll away and fight if he had to. He moved his hand from her child’s nose instead and reached up to touch her scales instead. “They are my ancestors,” he told the dragon, seemingly confused by whatever he sensed, “freed from the sorcerer who devoured them. They guide me now as I serve to protect the people of Earthrealm.”

The dragon seemed to sigh and lifted her head out of Kenshi’s reach just so she could use one of her massive and flexible wings to gently push him towards her chosen rider. Kuai was glad though not surprised. The need for vengeance was the only thing that had driven Kenshi from the dishonorable path. Now that he had exacted his revenge there was nothing to pull him back onto that dark path.

Kenshi turned his head toward Kuai who was smiling gently to himself. Out in the snow, amongst the dragons, Kenshi looked more lost than most men did in a dark room. “What just happened?” he asked, though he did not reach out for Kuai or the dragon. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No. You have earned her approval,” he said though he managed to keep the laughter out of his voice, “which is not something easily won.”

“For what?”

“To be my partner. Mate by her definition.”

“You brought me here to get a dragon’s approval?”

“Mothers always know best.”


	6. A Turn of the Tides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonya and Johnny bring disturbing news of Raiden's invasion of Outworld.

Within the week, Kuai had settled Kenshi within the Lin Kuei as a guest instructor, a teacher who was to be interpreted as an honorary Lin Kuei by his warriors. He personally tested those who would join Kenshi’s classes to learn his unique blend of several styles. Some were too stiff to take easily to the fluidity of the man’s style. Others simply didn’t have the swordsmanship. The dozen or so that were interested and good enough spent their evenings with Kenshi while Kuai finished up his evening paperwork after dinner. During the day the man taught lessons in closing one’s mind or silencing it against telepathic or psychic opponents while Kuai saw to the basic training of his men then the training of the dragons and their riders. Most days, their schedules were busy. They barely had time for themselves let alone each other. On some days it was all they could do to fall in bed together and sleep curled up around one another until the sun rose.

But of course their closed little world of training and being just the two of them wouldn’t last. Kuai had been taking his riders out on a combat maneuver when he saw a Special Forces helicopter approaching from the distance. He knew better than to approach the loud machine with his mount so he turned them back, sending one of his men ahead of the others to inform the guards to stand down. The last time he had been sent Special Forces men without notice his men had very nearly butchered them before common sense told them to hold their blades and let him deal with them. He couldn’t imagine what this mess was about. If it was to train the children there would have been word sent ahead. 

He had barely landed and gotten his dragon safely to her cavern when the one sent ahead ran to him, only slightly winded. He was glad that the endurance training he had pressed into them had paid off. “Johnny Cage and General Blade have arrived. They request an audience with you and Master Takahashi.” 

Hm. It sounded serious. “Take them to the audience room. Prepare them something sweet and warm. I will retrieve Kenshi and be there shortly.” The man bowed and scurried off. It didn’t take Kuai long to remember where Kenshi would be this time of day. No doubt word would have reached him as well.

Sure enough he found Kenshi finishing the last of the kata he was guiding his students through in the classroom he had given the man and instead of interrupting just watched. Instead of the heavy layers of armor and plating he wore in the Special Forces he wore clothing more like the uniforms of the Lin Kuei. “They are warmer,” he said when Kuai had asked with some amusement, “And even if I am not a member it would only be right to wear a similar uniform would it not?”

The rich black under armor suited his pallor and silver hair just fine and the lighter blue of the tunic he wore over it, long enough to fall midway down his thighs matched it well. The pants, as part of the under armor, were the same black as the shirt, and the black leather of his footwraps and belt were matched with the black of the fingerless gloves and bracers he wore. Kuai knew he had thicker armor he would wear for when the students were ready to take him on in a proper bladed fight. For now this would do. He still felt a surge of possessive pleasure whenever he saw the light blue blindfold over those eyes. He was sure it was the only reason why Kenshi wore it when he was fairly certain the red was a material he was far more used to.

The students were dismissed and Kenshi followed the sound of their retreat from the classroom. “We have guests,” he said simply, “Sonya and Johnny I’d wager.”

“What gave them away?”

“Sonya is always angry or stressed. Johnny is only ever serious when something is desperately wrong and even then his thoughts have an edge of levity to them.” He could probably feel Kuai’s stare so he shrugged. “Neither of them bother to silence their thoughts. I am not prying into anything beyond what is already public to any who could see them.” 

It was a true enough answer so Kuai said nothing about it and instead waited for Kenshi to step from the room first. He followed him, not needing to guide him this time, to the audience room where their guests were. The man that had been there to tend to them bowed and left the room quickly. Kenshi strode forward first but Kuai took a moment to assess the lines of his allies’ bodies. What Kenshi could read in thoughts he could read in body language. Words were often false, spoke with the mind’s intent. One’s body spoke with the heart’s intent and was often truer than any words spoken.

Sonya looked exhausted, even as she reached for Kenshi and pulled him into a rare hug. Her shoulders when she stood still were not as straight and proud as he knew them to be. She was in uniform which spoke of this matter, whatever it was, being business matters. Her eyes looked tired though she tried to cover up the circles beneath them with makeup. She had removed her hat for once, not needing to be reminded of manners again and although she had hidden most of it well beneath the makeup it was clear her age was catching up to her, the burden of her position weighing on her more heavily than ever. 

Johnny, despite the way he patted Kenshi on the shoulder after their hug and made some sort of joke about being old, showed similar lines of fatigue. His hair was entirely grey now and the lines in his face were much deeper than Kuai remembered them being. His shoulders were no straighter than Sonya’s nor did he seem any better rested. Whatever this matter was that they brought to his attention was serious indeed. 

Kuai straightened as both pair turned to greet him. Sonya at least respected his desire to avoid being touched (Kenshi was the only exception) but Johnny couldn’t resist pulling him into the same one armed hug as he had Kenshi earlier. Kuai tolerated it because freezing the man’s arm off was considered petty and uncouth. “Was’up coldilocks?” 

There were times he really regretted that he had agreed to ally with the Special Forces and thus Cage. “Do not test my patience or I will let my frost dragons eat you for dinner.” As if Sonya would let him.

But Johnny looked excited nonetheless. “Whoa, really?! You really have frost dragons? I thought that was just a myth or something! Holy shit dude! Epic!”

And Sonya, likely already knowing about his mounts as they had come from Outworld and thus it was her business to know, was done with her former husband’s enthusiasm. “I told you. Now if we could focus? We have a bigger issue we need to deal with at the moment.”

“It is not another invasion is it?”

“No. Quite the opposite in fact. We invaded this time. Raiden brought the Shirai-Ryu to Outworld and conquered it for his own.”

Kuai took a deep breath to steady his momentary flash of anger. Was that really necessary? He and his Lin Kuei had decimated Kotal Kahn’s forces when the emperor came through chasing after the amulet that again Raiden failed to protect. But Kenshi’s hold on his own anger wasn’t quite so tight. “What?!” he snapped, nearly shouted at the pair, “He invaded Outworld? Why? What for?!”

“He called it a preemptive attack. To avoid another war with Outworld he chose to conquer it for himself thus eliminating the threat.”

“But the Reiko Accords…”

“Were null and void the moment Kotal Kahn set foot in Earthrealm with his army.”

Kenshi shook his head as if he was having trouble grasping what his friends had laid out behind him. Kuai, however, had no problem believing it. That Hanzo would be involved was not surprising either. The man had quite the temper and was easy to manipulate. It was how Quan Chi had done it when he brough the demon known as Scorpion to life and thus he imagined how Raiden had done the same. But Hanzo Hasashi was not the only Shirai-Ryu they had to be concerned about.

“And what of Takeda? Was he amongst them or was he with you when this invasion took place?” Kuai asked, knowing Kenshi was too distraught over his trust being betrayed again. 

“He was on an exercise with us. From what I understand the Shirai-Ryu took pretty heavy casualties. The Grandmaster was not one of the fallen, thankfully.”  
Or unfortunately. Kuai was glad Raiden had not approached him about this invasion. He would have called the god out on his foolishness and likely would have lost whatever good will he might have gained with him over the years. Still this did not mean he or the Lin Kuei would abandon their duties as guardians of Earthrealm. He was sworn to the duty and Kuai Liang took his vows very seriously. Kenshi was no different. It was why they swore themselves to so few things.

“So how do we handle this matter?” he asked, already pacing around the group to guide them to take a seat on some couches he kept nearby for long meetings like this. He would have Kenshi ask the men no doubt waiting not far away for tea. They had become less startled with time with his ability to speak to them in their minds. It was amusing to see who still jumped when they heard his voice in their head. “We are not part of Outworld and without blatant evidence of cruelty amongst the people there is little reason to challenge Raiden’s claim from our side.”

“There’s gotta be something!” Johnny interjected, “I mean, in this realm one country invades another that’s a war, no two ways about it.”

“But the realms are not like countries,” Sonya replied her tone very business oriented though she held herself tensely, “Very few if any of them get along with each other. Now with the vacuum of power in Outworld and Netherrealm, we’re going to face a lot of wanna-be rulers coming at us from every side. I imagine there is already a resistance forming against Raiden as we speak.”

“So you came to ensure the Lin Kuei would hold to their vow to protect Earthrealm and not ally ourselves with any of the Outworld factions that might come to us.”

“You are from Outworld.”

Kuai frowned. “I am from Earthrealm. I was born here and raised amongst the Lin Kuei. It is, perhaps, why my brother and I survived the eradication of our people. That my people were from Outworld matters not.”

Sonya accepted his response but Johnny’s attention stayed focused on his friend. “What about you, Kenshi? You gonna stick with Earthrealm and the Special Forces on this one?”

Kenshi took a long time to answer and Kuai believed it was because he was carefully weighing the mortality of his choice. Kenshi was not irrational and impulsive like Hanzo but he was a man of great passion and heart, something Kuai now knew intimately. Still he did not speak or otherwise interrupt his partner’s thoughts. This was a decision he needed to make for himself for it was one that would ultimately pull at his soul one way or the other if the battle their Special Forces allies feared did come to pass. When he did speak his voice was uncertain, his entire posture speaking of being weighed down. “I… yes. I will walk with the Special Forces and the Lin Kuei in this. For Takeda.”

Both Sonya and Johnny let go of whatever breath they didn’t realize they were holding onto. Kuai was not surprised by the decision though he knew it would take some time and a turn of events might have the man wish he had not made the decision so quickly. Instead of making Kenshi speak more, the Grandmaster pulled their guests’ attention to him again as he knocked in a specific pattern on the floor and then spoke again. His men would know what it meant. “I cannot leave my clan for too long. If we are to prepare for battle I must oversee their preparations personally. But we have kept up with our training since the Outworld invasion. My men will not be caught so easily on foreign blades.”

“Yeah, we kinda figured that part out on our own, thanks,” Johnny said, still his obnoxious self though Kuai was starting to be unnerved by the way the man kept staring at Kenshi, “Though what about you, Neo? You staying with Vanilla Ice over here or coming back with us? We could use you and I’m sure Takeda would like to see you more often.”

“My place is here. I have classes to teach now and Takeda… Takeda needs space to become his own man.”

“You mean totally hook up with Jacqui.”

“If that is what he wants. He is not a child anymore.”

Kuai did not need to be telepathic to know the rest of what Kenshi wished to say. ‘I have burdened him enough with my selfishness in this lifetime.’ He would have to remember to reassure his lover later, when these two were well away from the temple. With them unable or unwilling to shield their thoughts he did not doubt that Kenshi would sleep poorly with them here. That and the way Sonya approached this visit did not sit well with him.

She was a strong and formidable fighter. She did not need an escort such as Johnny. Which meant she either brought him to speak to Kenshi, use his familiarity with the man to try and manipulate him through their friendship or Johnny came of his own free will to use their friendship to convince him in person. Either way it seemed underhanded. Logic and sound reasoning should have been enough. To toy with one’s emotions was low but apparently common enough that humans used it without thinking.

A Lin Kuei warrior knocked politely on the door and when Kuai bid him to enter he brought a tray with four tea cups, American style tea, and small biscuits. They were usually kept for guests like Johnny and Sonya, foreigners who did not appreciate the propriety of proper tea. Johnny dove right in like a starved beast but Sonya held herself with more dignity and sipped at the tea first before she munched on the first one. Kuai poured the tea for Kenshi and then himself, letting the smell of it draw the man to the cup.

They ate and drank in silence for a bit. Kuai knew that the cooks would have dinner ready in an hour. He didn’t want to eat too much and spoil his dinner. Kenshi was clearly doing the same. Even without the sun to see the time by, his sense of time was as good as ever. Either that or he was listening to him and taking cues from him. He disliked the idea of Kenshi being so thrown off by this encounter to rely on echoing those around him. He would have thrown the pair out if he was a more impulsive person.

Instead he let them stay and chatted with them on other matters that had happened outside the walls of the temple. Some things had changed but not much. Johnny was kind enough to pass on news of Takeda who had stayed with the Special Forces to be with his girlfriend. Kenshi’s mood lightened at the anecdotes that were shared about the boy, especially when it came to his training amongst the others. Kuai noticed how what became of the Shirai-Ryu was left out of the tale but chose not to bring it up. He would learn of it later.

Sonya kept her attention focused on him which he felt but for the most part ignored. If she wanted to say something she would. She had never been the type to hold back out of consideration for another’s feelings. He could respect that although he knew tact had its place and she would have done well to remember that on more than one occasion when speaking with foreigners or even her own daughter. It was one of many reasons he had chosen to keep the Lin Kuei out of any sort of guarding duty. He too had never been gifted with his words.

Eventually a warrior came to let them know that dinner was prepared and Kuai suggested that they retire to the mess for a meal before the pair left. Johnny was quick to jump up and pulled Kenshi with him as if they were children still. Kenshi let the man manhandle him, probably just used to the way his friend touched him, but Kuai took his time to gather together their dishes from their little tea gathering back onto the tray. He would make sure to return it to the kitchens himself later.  
Sonya did not follow after the pair that had already left though. She waited for him as patiently as he had ever known her to wait. When he got close enough she folded her arms over her chest and stood in his way. “How long have you two been together?” Kuai blinked at the question. He had not been aware it had been obvious to anyone outside the Lin Kuei. Too few knew him well enough to tell though perhaps she had read it off of Kenshi.

“Since he returned to us after his quest.”

“And you were planning on keeping it secret?”

“It is no one’s business but our own.”

“And that is where you’re wrong.” 

Sonya leaned closer, pulling herself up to her full height as if she was trying to intimidate him. He might have found it amusing if the topic were not so serious. He conjured a touch of cold down his arms. If she attacked him here he did not care that technically his clan were allied with the Special Force she would no longer we welcomed to the temple. There was one rule and everyone who entered that door knew it. Well those who were considered allies.

“Kenshi is a close friend,” she said, her words edged with steel, “And over the last couple of decades has gone through a lot of shit. So I will warn you this one time and one time only. You end up hurting him, I don’t care how, there is no force in any of the realms that will keep me from ending you.”

This time Kuai did chuckle. “He is no child. He is an adult, easily as old as you are. He can make his own decisions.”

“Yeah, and I’m making sure his decisions aren’t poor ones.”

As if she had a say in anything Kenshi did. But he knew this protectiveness. He had seen it in Bi Han when they were small and the other young Lin Kuei had chosen to pick on him because he was the smaller of the pair of cyromancer children. So while he wasn’t threatened by Sonya here he took her words to heart anyway. So he produced from his pouch the crest of the Takahashi clan Kenshi had given him before his long journey. She, who knew Kenshi well, would know what this meant to him. 

“Our courtship has been long though we have only recently come together. I would no more toy with his heart than you would surrender to your enemies. I make no vow for I cannot see what will come of our relationship but I promise you this; as long as he will have me by his side, as long as he fights for what is right and good in the world, I will stay by him.”

“So it’s conditional.”

“Only in that he stays true to himself.” Kuai had been cyberized. He had been resurrected as a revenant and enslaved. Those who once tortured him and held his chain were long gone but he could still feel the pain of their ministrations. Should Kenshi fall and his blade be raised against what he once stood so strongly for, Kuai could not promise he would not strike the man down for the betterment of the world. It would shatter his heart to do so and leave who he was encased in cold despair but he would rather be the one to make his beloved’s death as quick and painless as possible than to leave him enslaved to evil.

Sonya knew some of that. She watched his eyes for a long time and he hoped she could read his sincerity in them. Apparently she did because she relaxed and stepped out of the doorway. He let go of the cold he had gathered. “Good. So long as we understand each other.”

Kuai said nothing but offered to let her go first as they walked down the hall toward the dining room where the other had gathered. The usual quiet murmur of conversation was suddenly full of laughter and loud talking. The grandmaster took a deep breath and accepted that this would be how the meal would go. This was why he so rarely allowed Johnny to eat with his men. He was a corrupting influence wherever he went. Thankfully the temple carried no spirits of any kind. He didn’t want to imagine the sort of chaos that might derive from a drunken Johnny amongst his men if this what happened when the man was sober.

Fortunately Sonya seemed to understand the level of disruption her former husband brought with her and was quick to tone him down as their food was brought. Kuai sat on the other side of Kenshi from where Johnny was sitting. He just wanted to enjoy his food in relative peace. He still had some work to do that this visit of theirs had interrupted. 

“So, Sub Zero, after dinner, we gonna go meet your pet dragon?”

Kuai felt his eyebrow twitch despite his best effort. “She is not a pet. She is a noble mount who chose to serve.”

“Whatever. She’s still a dragon. A real dragon. That can fly. I assume she spits fire?”

“Ice. She is a frost dragon.”

“Of course she would be, Ice Cube. Gotta stick with your thing.”

Kuai wanted to clarify, yet again, that he hadn’t chosen to wield ice, he was born with the ability but he knew it was pointless to argue. He returned to his food and let the man turn his attention back to Kenshi who was asking about the latest movies he had been in. It was clear from the way Kenshi spoke he missed visiting the cities sometimes. Kuai wondered if he had been to many of them in his travels or if he, in order to avoid drawing the Red Dragon’s attention, had stuck to the countryside. He would have to ask later. Perhaps he could plan a trip for the pair of them when there was some time to spare. It had been years since he had last walked amongst the humans as civilian.

The meal finished and the last of the conversation falling into a lull, Kenshi excused himself. “I have some things I need to tend to before it gets too late.”

“Okay dude. See ya later. Don’t be a stranger though. Actually call me sometime.”

“Of course.”

There were more hugs and goodbyes before Kenshi left the room and Kuai escorted his guests out. They seemed happier than when they had first come but he knew better.


	7. Speaking With One's Self

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenshi takes the news Johnny and Sonya brought badly but Kuai does what he can to help him cope with it. Kuai also tries to decide what is best for both of them given how very human Kenshi is and how not human he is.
> 
> Note: Sorry. This chapter is mostly filler.

When Kuai found Kenshi again the man was with his students as was usual for this time of night. To the students and likely most who did not know him well the earlier conflict had not afflicted him in the slightest but Kuai knew better. He saw the tightness in the man’s smile, a sharpness to his movements and occasionally his tone when he spoke. His patience was thinner than usual but he did not snap at even his most trying student. Still Kuai didn’t leave the training room, instead watching the man. His paperwork could wait until the morning.

Hours passed. Kenshi seemed to relax though he wasn’t completely at ease. Kuai couldn’t say he was surprised. It would take a lot more than routine to settle his mind. He contemplated ways he could help. There wasn’t much. Perhaps they could spend some time together in meditation before they went to sleep? Kenshi seemed to take comfort in the calm of his presence and mind. Maybe some sex would help too. He always seemed tired afterward. It was a short term solution perhaps but it was better than to let the nightmares come that would no doubt plague Kenshi’s conflicted mind.

The students were released when their usual time was up and as usual Kenshi collected their practice weapons and extinguished the lights as he went. He didn’t need them to see by. It was as convenient for the temple as it was unnerving to some students. As human as most of them were they needed at least the light of the moon to see by. Sento ensured that not only was light not necessary but even the most stealthy of Kuai’s men would not escape his notice. It amused him to see how many took it as a personal insult when the telepath still sensed their presence. Some of them, if they were lucky, might be able to take Kenshi by surprise given practice. As in months of practice.

Kuai said nothing as Kenshi led the way to Kuai’s bedroom that he had secretly started calling their room. Kenshi spent more time here than his actual rooms. Perhaps he would have look into claiming the temple’s former master bedroom as his own if the two of them were to live together. They would need more space at the very least even if Kenshi hadn’t had much with him when he had initially moved in with them. Well that and more privacy.

It wasn’t until they got behind closed doors that Kuai even thought to mention the very idea of Kenshi not being himself. “Sonya and Johnny’s visit was unexpected,” he said unnecessarily as he watched his lover start to remove the various layers that kept him warm, “but their concern holds real consequences. Your decision earlier was made quickly by your standards.”

“And? What of it?”

“I thought simply that you might wish to meditate on the matter with me.” Not that Kuai’s loyalties were split. The people of Earthrealm were his and the Lin Kuei’s priorities, no matter that his people once originated from there. But Kenshi had always had his own moral compass. “It is not an easy decision to make.”

“Yet one you made easily.”

“I swore the Lin Kuei to Earthrealm’s protection. What that might mean is up to my interpretation of what is best for Earthrealm and its peoples. Humans are fragile, weak in mind and body compared to the citizens of Outworld. What is in the interest of their protection is not so clear cut as one might think.”

Kuai knew without Kenshi turning around that his lover was trying find his ulterior motive. He could not say it was unexpected. So he let himself open up his mind to the man, let him read all the emotions he had about the situation and what thoughts he had held onto from it. He watched Kenshi’s body language as he searched, watched as he left behind his armor and let his true self show through the simple clothes he had been wearing underneath it. Kenshi likely read his worry, his conviction to serve what was right, his need to make sure his beloved was at peace with his decision whatever it was. He seemed both relieved and at once tired.

“I… I do need the time to consider this carefully.”

“Then come. Let us meditate together. We will seek the true answers within ourselves.”

Kenshi turned them, stripped down without Sento or even his blindfold over his eyes. His glowing blue eyes remained closed for now and without thinking Kuai reached out to catch the man’s arm to guide him to the room that faced the mountainside on one of the upper floors, a place he had found peaceful enough to let go of the outside world and focus inward. If Kenshi resented being guided he did not show it but the way he shivered even as they came upon the room with its large open window did worry Kuai. He considered going back to his rooms to grab a blanket or robe but knew somehow that Kenshi right now would accept neither. Kuai knew the man was proud above many things and to accept even this small token would be and admission of weakness he didn’t think he could afford.

So the Lin Kuei grandmaster offered something else instead. As Kenshi settled in the center of the room, slowly steading his breath and no doubt trying to ignore the chill of the room, Kuai wrapped himself around the human, offering what little warmth his own body produced in an effort to help. He could feel Kenshi startle in his arms as he gathered the man in his hold. “I wish to be near you this time,” he said simply, a white lie that Kenshi fortunately did not look further into. Together their breaths deepened and their hold on the outside world slowly slipped as they focused on their inner thoughts and feelings.

Kuai Liang had no idea what it was like for Kenshi, a man who could read the thoughts of others as clearly as he could his own, but for the most part the Lin Kuei Grandmaster had once had a hard time with analyzing his own thoughts. He wasn’t quite like Bi Han who seemed to know what his subconscious was telling him with ease as if his inner self was a patient teacher who took the time to explain every symbol, every nuance to him so there was no room for error. He had rarely met his inner self and even then that man had been as cold and cryptic as if unwilling to give up his secrets. That his inner self looked more like the Bi Han he remembered than himself didn’t escape him. Nor the fact that if he dared look at his inner self while he meditated he would see the scars of the cyberization process in his skin. 

Tonight was no exception, even with the warmth of his beloved against his chest. Kuai encountered his inner self pretty quickly this time, the other wearing the same outfit as Bi Han had when he had fought in Mortal Kombat though Bi Han had never quite had the same physique he had. Bi Han had been leaner, faster but Kuai had more strength and a talent for tactics. His inner self spoke like him at least. That made things easier. “You seek answers you already know,” his reflection said as they stood in an arctic forest, not unlike the forest beyond the walls of the Lin Kuei temple, “so why are you here, Grandmaster Liang? There is nothing for you to find here.”

“Not in regards to the fate of Earthrealm,” he agreed as he looked around, already seeing in the too-perfect symmetry of the trees that indicated he walked now in the Dreamrealm, “but I still need to find answers within myself.”

“For what?”

“What to do about Kenshi.”

His reflection looked at him as if searching for something in his features for just a moment before he sighed and pulled the mask from his face. Kuai knew without looking the scars he’d see in the man’s face. His body may have healed from the metal armor that he had once been trapped in but his soul and thus his reflection had never truly recovered. It was unnerving to see the ugly scars across his own face and the bare skin of his own arms where wires once buried into his skin and he was made more machine than human. Still it was a part of his own history that he had long ago accepted. It didn’t make it that much easier to see but at least he had dealt with it.

“Takahashi Kenshi is quite the puzzle,” his reflection said after a long moment, looking out to a warped version of the beautiful landscape around the temple, “A powerful man who has an obvious weakness, impassioned yet wise, a patient teacher yet very much a child himself in many ways. Tell me, what do you want out of this?”

“I want us to be together.”

“But do you? Truly?”

“Why would I not want to?”

Kuai’s reflection looked pitying for just a moment. “Do you truly not understand yourself? He slaughtered an entire clan without regard in the name of revenge. He did not even offer the men who did naught but serve the wrong master the justice of simply wounding them before moving on. What makes you think he would pledge himself to you and the causes of the Lin Kuei so easily?”

“His woman’s murder has been avenged. It took him decades to accomplish it and not once has he lost his focus on it. He would not dedicate himself to a cause or a person he did not intend to.”

“Truly? Then why was he not with his woman when the Red Dragon attack? Why did he not save his woman?”

“You know the answer as well as I do. I do not see the point in answering your question.”

“You need to admit to yourself why it is.”

“He was undercover for the Special Forces. His cover was blown. He ran to protect his woman and his son.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“Is there some reason for me not to?”

“You seem hesitant to accept that tale.”

Why though? Kenshi had told him himself. Reports on the incident proclaimed it as truth. Yet his inner self seemed to think it was a lie. 

There was no reason to doubt that the incident happened. Kenshi’s body had more than enough scars to prove the tale of his escape from enemy blades and bullets. Yet Kuai knew there was some part of himself that did not believe the tale… the same part of himself that continued to whisper in the back of his mind that Kenshi was a womanizer, a man who would toy with his heart and soul and leave him when he found a more interesting prey elsewhere. He had done all he could to silence these whispers, even having gone so far as to shut his mind off entirely from Kenshi once during their love making one night, much to the man’s confusion. Now the whispers spoke more loudly than ever, even with the warmth of the man against his chest and in his arms.

Kenshi had never shown an interest in any of the other warriors of the Lin Kuei but the way Johnny had stared earlier spoke of a want that perhaps the actor had not yet admitted to himself. That Sonya threatened him as she did spoke of either a protectiveness that inherently came with motherhood or a relationship that fell through, one she perhaps hoped to rekindle when Kuai failed. That Kenshi could have either of them if he wished but chose him instead was something he was proud of even if he could not understand what the telepath ‘saw’ in him. Surely Kenshi would prefer a warm, golden beauty over an old, cold man of ice.

Yet he considered the words his inner self said, words that his subconscious thought were important enough to mention. Kenshi had not been with Suchin when the Red Dragon came for her and Takeda. But given what he knew of the man, would he truly had left the woman he loved and their son alone while he was being hunted? He knew very little of Suchin but from what he could tell she was a fairly formidable warrior in he own right, despite being only human. Perhaps Kenshi had thought she could protect herself and Takeda. He would never know, not without asking the man and after finally finding peace on the matter there was no reason to bring that pain back for something as frivolous as curiosity.

He was nothing like Suchin. Even if he lived on his own, away from his clan, he was a formidable fighter. With groups his abilities gave him an edge no human could hope to match. Kenshi would not have to watch over him as he would have had to do for Suchin. Surely the man knew that. Right?

But there was something else, some other reason why he uncertain if he should continue to pursue this courtship. Kenshi may be strong but he was just human. Humans could not survive in the cold like he could. Eventually the chill would weaken Kenshi’s body and he would fall ill. Or maybe his need to travel would return and he would seek his adventure beyond the walls of the temple. Kuai was not a man to give his heart away with any sort of ease nor did he think he could stand to be apart from the man he loved for years at a time, knowing the kind of danger a man like Kenshi would regularly get himself involved in. Kuai had known the cold embrace of death before Quan Chi had him pulled from it back into the world of the living, enslaved though he had been. He did not want to imagine Kenshi facing a similar darkness alone… or the thought of his soul being trapped with his ancestors within Sento, never to rest peacefully for all eternity.

Yet he could not abandon the Lin Kuei even if Kenshi so decided to leave the temple to wander again. They were his family in all but blood. Some of them had barely been more than children in body and mind when they came to prove themselves. To leave them to themselves for too long… he still had nightmares about what happened last time. 

Could a relationship between them last through their being apart? Could he stand to be here if Kenshi died elsewhere, either on another man’s blade or in a bed riddled with sickness and pain? Or would he be made to watch the man remain trapped within these walls, never to really feel warmth again, trapped in the ice and snow of the mountains with him? Perhaps the kindest thing to do was to set his handsome swordsman free. It would hurt. He doubted he’d ever find another he would care for as he did Kenshi but if it was what it took to keep his smile bright and his laugh light he would do it.

When Kuai looked at his inner self again, the man seemed to smile behind the mask though it was hard to tell. “You should speak to him. Decisions that affecting two people should be made with input from both parties.”

“This is not the time for him to hear such doubt.”

“Do not wait too long. The longer you wait. The harder it will become.”

Kuai sighed and closed his eyes against his inner self, slowly easing back into himself. Slowly the warmth and weight in his arms became more solid and the smell of Kenshi’s particular combination of soap, shampoo drew his consciousness back completely. He opened his eyes to the sight of the moon, now high in the sky, painting the mountains with beautiful silver. The room felt fine to him but to someone as warm as Kenshi it might have felt a bit chilled. Perhaps he should make an effort to at least keep their bedroom warmer. Sleeping in the cold against a body that was just as cold was probably not good either.

He stayed still as he waited for Kenshi to return to himself as well. It was subtle. A change in his breathing pattern and a tensing of his muscles that otherwise would have been relaxed. He ended up not having to wait very long but when Kenshi returned to himself there were tears starting to soak the blue of his blindfold. Kuai had been surprised at first but chose not to say anything. When his lover was ready to speak he would. Instead he just tightened his hold gently around the man and let him weep for whatever it was that was strong enough to evoke tears from his eyes so suddenly. He could only hope whatever it was wasn’t particularly serious. There was only so much he could do to ease another’s pain. He specialized more in causing it and ice would do nothing to numb a pain of this kind. Not without death.

He let Kenshi cry silently, let his tears wash away whatever it was within himself that needed to be cleansed, eventually letting go of the man to get up and find some tissues and a small trash can he could use to clean himself up with. Kuai couldn’t remember the last time he cried as Kenshi did. He must have been a child at least. If he cried when the previous Lin Kuei had strapped him down to be cyberized he could not remember. It was probably for the best if he did not recall much of those dark days.  
When Kenshi had composed himself again he removed his blindfold and rubbed at his eyes whose glow somehow seemed dimmer. “Forgive me,” he said softly as he calmed himself, “I must seem ridiculously emotional to you. Like one of the women you’ve heard your men tell tales about.”

“We are not machines, Kenshi. We have emotions. It is part of the human experience to know them and when they become overwhelming vent them when we need to.”  
Kenshi’s replying chuckle was short and weak but at least there seemed to be some actual joy in it. “I do not imagine the Grandmaster Liang having time for such foolishness as needing a good cry once in a while.”

Well that was true at least. “I have other ways to express what I feel. I am simply not as demonstrative as you or some of the others are.” That did not mean that they were wrong nor that he was. He was simply raised differently. Well, he and Bi Han. The rest of the Lin Kuei that he had grown up with were dead, either by his hand or of old age. These new warriors he had tried a different approach and encouraged them to make friends with one another. He was glad they did not have to know the isolation he had. 

When the tears were wiped from his face and he looked somewhat presentable again Kenshi stood up with the same grace as he did anything else and Kuai wordlessly caught his arm with ease. He closed his eyes instead of leaving them open as he let the Lin Kuei guide him from the room. They did not speak again until they were in the safety of the grandmaster’s quarters. In fact they didn’t even speak right away as Kenshi took the opportunity as soon as the door was closed to pull his lover close and kiss him with the urgency of someone who sought to forget.

Kuai let himself surrender to the kiss. His fingers easily found the ties to Kenshi’s clothes, cast them about as he stripped the man of everything that covered his warm skin. Kenshi’s fingers knew his clothes just as well. He barely noticed the clatter of his clothes coming off as he guided his beloved to their bed. He knew what Kenshi was asking for. His meditation hadn’t been enough. If he was going to sleep his body needed to be exhausted in a way that sparring alone could not manage.

Their love making this time was more animalistic than it usually was. Fingers clawed and grabbed at one another while teeth sank into skin and lips left dark and distinct bruises on skin that changed colors beautifully. But as it was Kenshi that needed to be exhausted Kuai did not hold him down this time. He let Kenshi use his blindfold to bind his wrists, watched those glowing eyes as their owner searched for the oil they had taken to keeping in the room and then gasped when he felt hot fingers touching where he had never considered finding pleasure himself until Kenshi had shown him. He did not need to make a noise for Kenshi to know his pleasure. Tonight Kuai let down his careful barriers and let the telepath sense and feel everything he felt, to know him as only Kenshi could.

As their bodies joined in the darkness, Kuai wished he could read minds like Kenshi could. They were close like this but he wished to be closer still. Kenshi indulged him by whispering in his ear, filthy promises and sweet nothings and everything in between. Every thought that floated through his thoughts as he fucked into his lover and Kuai tightened his strong legs around his lover’s more narrow hips to encourage it all. He was not used to this role in their bedroom, preferring to be the one to hold Kenshi down as poor memories of being tied down would trigger instincts that he could not ease. But this was not the first time they had done it this way and he doubted it would be the last. He spoke through his mind to Kenshi as he felt the man’s thrusts become erratic. He could feel his own pleasure building.

While Kenshi didn’t exactly shout when he climaxed deep inside his lover he wasn’t quiet by any means. Normally Kuai would have found some way to muffle it but he was a little tied up at the moment and he was loathe to destroy the blue sash that Kenshi had used to hide his eyes from the bright light. Kuai joined him in pleasure perhaps a thrust or two against the man’s body later though he did muffle his own cry behind his teeth. 

The room felt almost uncomfortably warm but he ignored it for the moment. He would cool it back down in a while. Kenshi lay still for a few moments before, as he did, he reached up and untied the cloth binding his wrists before getting up presumably to get a cloth to clean them off with. Kuai rubbed some circulation back into his wrists as he waited and as soon as they were clean took the rag from his lover to set it in a small bowl he kept tucked next to the bed specifically for these moments. It did not take much to encourage Kenshi back into their bed and into his arms again. 

Tomorrow, Kuai promised himself he and Kenshi would talk and decide what to do about their courtship in the long term. This threat that Sonya and Johnny had brought to their attention reminded them that their enclosed little world would not last forever. Something would pull them apart eventually and they needed to talk about what that would mean for them as a pair even if the realms took priority over anything as selfish as their personal desires. But tonight he would enjoy the simple warmth of Kenshi sleeping soundly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lin Kuei Temple is infiltrated. Kenshi does not get out of it unscathed.

But when morning came it was not with the warmth of the sun and the gentle awakening that came with it. Kenshi woke and when he bolted upright in the bed, applying a sudden pressure to Kuai’s chest he nearly froze the man before he caught himself. Before he even knew what was happening his lover was out of bed, dressing quickly not in his blue teaching clothes but the red of his armor. “What is going on?” he asked gruffly, quickly getting up to do the same, “What do sense?” He could hear nothing, even with their shuffling about. 

“Someone’s trying to break in. They’re killing your men, searching for something.”

Searching for something? The Lin Kuei did not guard any artifacts nor priceless works. There was nothing here one would want to steal. If they wanted the dragons they could have found them easily in the mountainside and he knew that the matriarch was more than powerful enough to slaughter any who would dare threaten her or her children. “How many of them are there?” Given that this was a stealth attack likely not many. It should be a simple matter to hunt them down and wipe them out. They spilled Lin Kuei blood. They would pay for their transgression.

“It feels like… two? Yes. Two people. But one of them is trying to muffle his thoughts. Hasn’t quite managed it but is trying.”

“Are they traveling together?”

“No. They are searching separately.”

“Then let us split up. I will take out the nearest one. You find and eliminate the other.”

“Even if…?”

“They killed my clansman. They will pay in blood for their transgression.”

Kenshi nodded and described where he could sense the closer one before he left the room, taking the hallway that would lead deeper into the temple. Kuai took a different one, careful to tread as lightly as possible and tone down the inherent chill that followed him when he prepared for battle. Without knowing who he faced it would be better to sneak up on his enemy. Who knew? Perhaps it was a rogue fire elemental and their lover or something. He had made many enemies in Outworld when he turned the Lin Kuei toward their purpose. It would not surprise him in the least to learn that his particular assassins killing off his men one by one to be from there.

But unlike Kenshi he did not have the advantage of telepathy to find his way in the darkness of his own temple. He had long memorized the hallways and doorways but his eyes could not see the man he faced. So he had to listen instead, pausing to listen for footsteps or a lack thereof. He head the gentle tread of one of his men patrolling nearby. He paused and listened. They made it ten steps closer to him before he heard the distinct sound of someone muffling another’s cry of surprise and then choking. The smell of blood filled the air.

Kuai let loose his power, gathering it down his arms and letting ice form around his calves. The doorways formed layers of ice as did the floor. He heard the person who had killed his man breathe in sharply then turn on a lantern. His opponent was a child by the looks of him, or at least a young man. But even with the knife in his hand and the bloodied Lin Kuei warrior at his feet he looked confused, almost disoriented. Kuai called ice into his palm. “You will know the chill of death,” he promised, shattering the ice in his hands. It seemed to pull the child out of his daze. Now there was only fear.

“You…”

“You killed my warriors. You will pay for their deaths with yours.”

The boy shifted his grip on his weapon though it shook in his hands. He knew the name of who he faced, perhaps heard some of the rumors but dismissed them, apparently. This boy did not deserve mercy with Lin Kuei blood staining his hands but it was clear he did not choose to kill them of his own free will. Someone pressed him into it, likely the one whom Kenshi was facing now. Thus when he defeated this boy he would have him imprisoned within the temple’s dungeons until he could properly decide his fate. The other he would execute personally if Kenshi did not.

The boy tried to rush him but his feet slipped on the now icy floor. It was a simple matter to redirect his own power against him, disarm him and throw him to the ground. He was quick on his feet again lashing out with punches and kicks that were powerful when they hit their marks but thrown recklessly out of panic. His feet continued to slip and slide and Kuai took advantage of that, easily getting the boy to fall over himself every third punch and landed a brutal hit on him each time. He was careful to not aim to kill. The assassin was a thin child. Either he was malnourished or he was younger than he looked. Neither of which spoke well for whomever brought him here.

Eventually the boy went down and no matter how hard he tried he could not get back up so Kuai used the ice around him to bind his ankles and wrists in place. Such a weak fighter may not know much but surely he knew enough to be of some use in taking down his partner. Pulling the icy layers from down the hallway back to himself, the grandmaster knelt in front of the trapped young man and formed a perfect, clear dagger made of solid ice. There was a momentary flash of fear before everything about himself changed. Suddenly there was a smirk on his face and he sat up straighter. “Well? Go on then. Ask your questions,” the boy said, his voice suddenly gruffer, with a familiar accent and low enough it sounded like it hurt him, “I haven’ got all night.”

Kuai gently traced his dagger over the side of the young man’s face, leaving a trail of frost on human skin. He saw his prey flinch though try to hide it. “Ah but you do, child,” he replied, “Now, tell me your name.”

“I don’t have one. I haven’t earned a name yet.”

Kuai blinked at the odd way this boy’s training worked but it sounded about right for a faction from Outworld somewhere. “Then what is the name of your companion?”

“Kano. He calls himself Kano.”

The mercenary? No wonder the child looked as haunted as he did. Kano was far from teacher material with his lack of patience and given his profession he was also likely ruthless. Hence a child of perhaps sixteen was trapped in his temple, at his mercy, the blood of the Lin Kuei on his shaky hands. “Why did he bring you here? What were the two of you looking for?”

“I am here as a test. I was told to kill you or the swordsman. He would take the other.”

“And you killed my men to lure us out?”

“Did not want to alert you too early that we were here. Thought that by killing them there was less risk in waking the whole temple.”

That was true. As unskilled as the boy was with a blade he would likely have not lasted against any one of the warriors he killed on a one on one fight. The boy was clearly trained in stealth, very well if the sheer number he had killed was any evidence, which was something he never would have thought the mercenary would attempt. Which meant that Kenshi would likely find and confront the man sooner rather than later. In such narrow corridors a sword would not do Kenshi much good in his hands and while he was fluid and a solid fighter, Kano fought dirty. There was no telling who would win this match.

But he could not just leave the boy here so he covered his nose and mouth and with minimal effort formed a mask of ice over the boy’s face. It would keep him quiet for the time being and let any who came across him know what he intended. They could not kill any prisoner who was weaponless and the mask would indicate a need to question later. He would be moved to the dungeons by whoever found him next. Unless it was Frost but as a master and thus an instructor she would not be on patrol in the night. He’d have to remember her though if he needed the boy “persuaded”. She had the sadism he had grown weary of years ago.

With his target neutralized, Kuai hurried in the other direction, listening carefully for sounds of combat. For a long time he heard nothing, not even the quiet steps of the guards that were supposed to be here. Then he heard the struggle of a pair of skilled fighters in combat, not inside the temple but in one of the gardens. He followed it outside where he found the grounds littered with the bodies of his guards. He felt a surge of cold anger but restrained it.

Kano had clearly felt Sento’s bite throughout the battle but Kenshi had not gone unscathed. The leg plates on one of his thighs was missing and his bracers had gash marks in them that weren’t there before. His blindfold had been cut away, leaving his blue eyes exposed to the moonlight. They had clearly fought hard, neither giving the other an inch. Normally he was loathe to interfere but Kano had somehow thrown off Kenshi somehow earlier in the fight and he would not stand to watch the man strangle his lover with that damned garrote he so preferred.

Kano knocked Kenshi down to one knee and before Kenshi could stand again drew the wire into his hands. Kuai didn’t wait to see that outcome. He froze Kano in place and tempted though he was to shatter the ugly sculpture he made and be rid of the man for good he knew of someone else whom this beast had wronged that would likely want to deal with him herself. He walked around his ice prisoner to help Kenshi to his feet and only when Kenshi was finally standing did he see the trickles of blood coming out of his ears. He almost asked out loud what happened but decided perhaps asking through his mind would be easier.

Kenshi’s reply sounded like an echo of his actual voice, somehow fuller. ‘He clapped his hands sharply over my ears. I can hear ringing now. Everything else sounds muffled.’ 

Kuai worried about that. He had healers amongst the Lin Kuei but this type of injury was not one they were equipped to deal with. So he guided Kenshi inside the temple and back to their own rooms, settling him on the bed before reaching for the rarely used communicator in the drawer of his bedroom bureau. He pulled away the mask and the hood of his armor as he waited for the call to connect. As expected Sonya looked tired but alert in the little hologram. “Sub Zero. What is it?” He couldn’t blame her for using such a curt tone. He would have been curt as well in her shoes.

“My temple was infiltrated by Kano and a companion he brought with him. The companion is a young man, unskilled in a true fight but dangerous with stealth and a blade. Kenshi fought Kano but was injured in a way that my healers cannot help with.”

“Wait. Rewind. What? Kano infiltrated your temple?”

“Yes. I believe it was both an attempt to kill Kenshi and I and a test to see if his companion had graduated from his training somehow.”

“And where is he now.”

“He is a fine ice statue in one of my gardens. His companion will be kept in my dungeons. If you do not want him, I will keep him. He has much to answer for.”  
At least Sonya seemed awake by now. “Alright, what about Kenshi?”

“In the fight, Kano damaged his ears somehow. He might have ruptured something. Kenshi claims he hears only ringing and muffled sounds.”

“Fuck.”

“Indeed.”

Sonya got up, clearly carrying the communicator with her. “I’ll be there within the hour with a medic and a prisoner transfer chopper.” That should give him enough time to move the boy he had captured earlier to that same garden and alert the remaining guards of the situation. He would have increase drills in defending against stealth attacks. He would test his instructors first thing in the morning before the lessons began while the others prepared for yet another round of funerals. He was not looking forward to reading off the names of the dead. Their deaths were on his shoulders. He had become too complacent and overconfident.

He repeated what Sonya had said in his mind to Kenshi and ran his fingers through the man’s hair. He could feel that Kenshi was unnerved by this new handicap. What if his hearing did not return? He could fight blind, he had trained for decades to be able to do just that but to be both blind and deaf? Kuai wasn’t certain he could fight like that, not as a Kombatant anyway. Kuai did not bother to try and soothe those fears. Instead he rested his lover’s head against his skin and reassured him that no matter what happened he would not leave him. After all, Kenshi was the only person he had ever felt close enough to even consider loving like this. He would not give everything up so easily.

After a short while though he got to his feet and guided Kenshi back to the garden, telling him to wait there while he retrieved the prisoner child and notified the head guard. The child had not moved from where he had been trapped. He complied quietly with Kuai’s commands, his head bowed though he couldn’t stop shaking. He carried no weapons and when the grandmaster removed then shattered the ice mask the child looked about ready to cry. Whomever Kano had chosen as his partner on this mission had been a poor choice no matter his skill. 

The guard leader had been horrified to see the bodies in the garden when he came at the grandmaster’s request and when Kuai told them there were at least a dozen more leading to the trail of how the boy at least got into the temple. “The Special Forces are coming to collect our prisoners,” he said, “they will be here within the hour.” The guard saluted and returned to his post for the night. Kuai spent the rest of the wait staying within Kenshi’s arm reach, letting those fingers touch him when he normally would have shrugged them off in front of an enemy if only to comfort his beloved. 

He didn’t look up at the sound of a helicopter’s blades breaking the quiet of the night nor the way the men shouted each other into formation. Sonya led the men she brought with her into the garden, guided by a warrior who looked just recently awakened. She instructed her men to take the two prisoners to cells built into the helicopter while another man took a look at Kenshi. Kuai told Kenshi that the man was a doctor, here to look at his injuries and immediately Kenshi moved his hand away from Kuai if only to better concentrate on the man’s thoughts and projecting his answers through telepathy.

The grandmaster watched all of this with no little sadness. He went to Sonya who seemed both pissed off at being here but also relieved. “Thank you for bringing him to me,” Sonya said, inclining her head toward Kano, “I’m sure you would rather have killed him yourself for what he did to your clan.” 

“I could not deprive you of your satisfaction,” he told her with a shrug. He didn’t say that he had come to find killing unnecessarily distasteful in his old age, preferring negotiation when possible and peace. He could kill. He had killed many in his time both as himself and as a slave to someone else’s whims. They had always pushed him to violence, to kill. He chose mercy and peace when he could now, because he could. 

The medic tilted Kenshi’s head this way and that, causing the swordsman to nearly fall over. The damage done was not just to his hearing then. His entire equilibrium was off. That was not a good sign. Even if his hearing returned it would take a while. Time he could not spend with the Lin Kuei if he was to heal properly. With his own soldiers in need of proper defensive training against such attacks in the future he could not leave them. Not now. “Take him with you. He needs medical attention he cannot receive here.” 

“You coming too?”

“I cannot leave my clan. Not in this time of death and mourning.”

“Not even for him?”

“Kenshi will understand. He is the one who woke me to hunt them. Besides it will do him some good to see his son again. They have not spoken in some time.”

“And whose fault was that?”

“Kenshi told me that he wished to allow Takeda time to grow as his own man.”

“He has done more than that.”

“Then I am sure Kenshi will be glad to hear of it. I can only hope that Jackson Briggs is prepared for what means for his daughter.”

Sonya’s smirk was more than a little self-satisfied. “Oh he knows. I can’t say that Kenshi won’t get an earful from him when he recovers enough.”

Kuai, for just a moment, was jealous of their friendship. Bi Han was the last person, other than Kenshi, he had felt such closeness to. Perhaps, when his warriors were better trained and the mourning period for these recently fallen, he could reach out to his allies. He needed to spend more time away from the temple anyway. He would not live forever and the clan would need to learn how to function without him if necessary. He would also need to name a successor soon. This attack may be the first of many, a prelude to another war. He already died once. He wanted to be sure that the Lin Kuei will continue on their path of good if he did die again.

“Promise me he will be watched over,” he told her, watching as the medic guided Kenshi to his feet and had to help stabilize him, “and if possible returned to me whole.”

“Why wouldn’t he be?”

“Your base of operations is far from secret. His enemies knew he was with me. They will likely know he will be on your base in medical bay.”

“We’re no push overs you know.”

“It is why I will entrust him to your care.”

Sonya’s stare made him turn to face her and he nearly flinched at the heat in her touch. Her gaze was intense. She might have made a decent Lin Kuei if she was so inclined. “Look, I get it. You care for him. So do I. So does Johnny. And if nothing else Takeda will be back from his mission tomorrow and will probably ask to personally guard him.”

It was still not him at Kenshi’s side, personally vetting any who approached for threats and eliminating any who would dare think to harm him further, but it would have to do. He would send Frost to do it but she was ill equipped for such a mission and he needed her here. She would be amongst the first he would train to both attack and defend in stealth. He knew that, like him, she would take personal offense of the fact that an amateur killed so many. Kano was more formidable. Kuai had seen many Kombatants fall to him before. Mere men had little chance, especially when at a disadvantage as the guards had been. 

He followed Sonya and the soldiers out of the temple though waited on the wooden porch while they ventured out into the snow. He saw the way the medic lay Kenshi out on a stretcher within the helicopter, carefully restraining him for the trip. So he reached out with his mind once more, hoping that even from this distance Kenshi could hear his voice amid the noise of the other voices gathering. ‘Be safe, my love,’ Kuai said to him, ‘I hope to see you well soon.’

He waited until the helicopter was gone before returning inside, coming face to face with a barely dressed Frost and the others of the clan curious and horrified. The sun had not yet risen but he knew none of the clan would be getting any more sleep this night. “Dress yourselves properly. I have important news for all of you.” It was time they learned of what they were preparing for and thus exactly the kind of enemy they would face. He considered bringing in some Outworld recruits to the Lin Kuei but decided against it. Too high a chance of infiltration and this sort of thing happening again. 

He even returned to his own rooms long enough to change out of his combat armor into something a little more comfortable though no less formal. He had the robes of the previous grandmaster dyed into the blue he and the clan wore now. He chose to wear them this time as he was going to speak as a grandmaster of a warrior clan rather than Sub Zero or even the man Kuai Liang. He hated how flimsy they felt even with their weight but for this matter they were appropriate.

When he swept into the room where the remains of the clan had gathered he felt his heart ache as he realized the faces he saw were all that remained of their number. They had never replenished their ranks after chasing Kotal Kahn from Earthrealm and then this attack had depleted their numbers even more. He would have to plan a means to recruit more members soon, means that didn’t involve a surprise tournament to test for skill and strength like last time. His clan members recognized the clothes he wore upon him getting half way across the room and silenced themselves as a he took his seat ahead of them. They looked worried. He just felt tired.

“Earlier tonight, the temple was infiltrated by the Black Dragon leader Kano and a boy I can only assume was a newer recruit to their number,” he told his men, some of whom seemed surprised by the news, “He and his man moved so quickly and so silently they butchered any guards they found along the way. The warriors I saw did not stand a chance. It took Master Takahashi and I to stop them both… and neither of us is getting any younger.

“As of tomorrow, when our fallen brothers and sisters are put to rest, we will begin a new regimen of training with a focus on defending from stealth attacks. He will emphasize close quarters combat and work with each of you to ensure you are as keen in the darkness as in the brightest of days.” If Kenshi had not been so badly injured he would have made a good instructor for such lessons. “We will honor those that fell this night by better ourselves so that we do not become victims as they did.”

He would take the next few days reviewing his best men, testing them in both skill and character, to be his chosen successor in the Lin Kuei should something happen to him. Right now it was not the priority. His men needed a focused teacher.


	9. Ice and Lightning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuai begins defensive stealth training of the Lin Kuei and Raiden shows his true colors.

Sonya or Takeda called him daily with updates about Kenshi. He was healing well enough though his hearing had not yet returned. Takeda had taken the time to teach him some basics of sign language if only so he could communicate without using his telepathy quite so much, especially with the normal human medics who would no doubt find such a thing unnerving. The medics were fairly certain the hearing loss was not a permanent thing but it would take time to recover from it. “He’s pretty strong and adaptable but he’s still in his early fifties. He’s only human.”

Kuai asked each of them to keep him updated with the situation as time passed. He chose his successor, a middle aged man who taught his students well, understood and lived by the principles of the Lin Kuei as Kuai had established them and even had enough of stern hand to deal with Frost and her argumentative nature. If the man could handle her when she was itching for a fight, then the man would have no problem with any recruit he so chose to be worthy of the title of Lin Kuei. He made the announcement to the others, already knowing Frost was going to challenge the man in question before the night was through. The man knew and was ready for it.  


With that matter settled he worked with this master assassins to look at how the attack happened and how best to prevent such a thing from happening again. He heard admiration in the way a few of the more senior instructors recounted what likely happened given the way the bodies were strewn about. The skill of their enemy deserved respect at the very least. Some of the warriors had prepared the bodies for their passage into the next life while another wrote down their names to find their records and mark them as gone. 

Without Kenshi by his side, Kuai felt his temper flare more than he thought it would when Frost would seek him out, the room about him growing cooler by degrees unconsciously. If Frost noticed that the temperature was his influence she had never said anything. She was like him though. She could not be chased out with chill. Yet his instincts still chose to slowly freeze the room in an effort to drive him away. He had chosen Kenshi and Kenshi had chosen him. What was so hard for her to understand? Unless she thought that with Kenshi not physically with the Lin Kuei this was her chance?

Kaui scoffed at the very idea. She was nothing like Kenshi and he wasn’t even including appearance in that assessment. Where he was calm and collected she was loud and in many ways excitable over the slightest things. She had the talent to conjure ice like he did but not of the discipline or the will power to do more than conjure a few small weapons at the time. That was another thing he would have to do before he left. He need to train Frost as he best he could to use ice in her favor, particularly if the enemy had already unleashed some ridiculous tirade and over ruled her usually brilliant tactical mind. It would mean, however, he would have to spend prolonged periods of time with her. 

The announcement to his men went as he anticipated it would. While most were accepting of his choice he saw a few murmurs of disagreement amongst those remaining. He said nothing about it. The man had been serving as his second in command for some time now. Most were used to him by now. The few that seemed upset were some of the others he had tested but found lacking. He’d let his second make the decision on what to do with them. All but Frost. He decided he’d have to address her himself. In a normal fight the human Lin Kuei would have easily stood a chance. But human flesh was fragile when touched by the cold of cyromancer. Even her relatively intermediate skill with the element he risked fairly severe injury if he did not take precautions.

After the warriors were dismissed for the night he had pulled Frost aside to let her know what his plan was. “The assassins were skilled Earthrealmers. We were fortunate. Had they come from any other realm, Kenshi would not have been able to sense their thoughts and thus we would not have heard, much less found them as we did." They could have lost so many more had Kenshi not awoken or been unable to pinpoint their locations and neither of them had intercepted the intruders quickly. 

Frost begrudgingly conceded the point. “And? What is the plan for their new training regimen? We train to attack from stealth. Perhaps it was time he emphasized how one was to defend themselves from it.”

“We will have to train together. I need to help you channel your ice abilities. I could use the practice of attacking and defending from stealth.” He would have to speak to the other factions to decide how they could best work with each other for training exercises should the worst come to pass yet again within his life time. Already he had born witness to two invasions. He prayed he would not have to see a third.

Frost seemed excited by the prospect and Kuai assumed that if she had less control over herself would have been jumping with glee as he had seen Cassandra Cage do a few times when she bested someone higher ranked than her when she was younger. He internalized his sigh. “We will meet when the others are beginning their evening chores. Our abilities work better in colder environments anyway.” That and he didn’t want the others to see whatever inappropriate behavior she might indulge in when it was just the two of them alone. He may have fought and beaten her to remind her of her place within his clan last time but he could ill afford to do so now, not with the attack so fresh in everyone’s mind.

He decided on a time and a place just beyond the temple’s walls to practice stealth in. He did not say that he would be waiting, already in his stealth gear, hunting her as she hunted him. Or so he thought. He would have to see how sharp her observation skills were in a place she was less familiar with. If she was good enough as soon as he knew the enemy he would send her amongst others to eliminate specific targets as necessary. The Shirai-Ryu were the thugs. The Lin Kuei would be the assassins.  


Both cyromancers returned to their duties after that, Kuai focusing on how best for his human warriors to use their humanity against their enemy. Physically humans were slightly larger than the average Outworlder but they were by no means stronger or faster. They could conjure no magic nor produce blades from their own skin. That did not mean, however, that they were completely helpless. Most Outworld soldiers were simpletons, ready to fight head on. The human Lin Kuei could easily outsmart them, provided there was enough of a distraction. Such as the Special Forces shooting at them. He’d make sure his men trained a little harder before he brought the idea to Sonya though. Ideas were no good without actions to back them up.

He watched over the person training of some of his more elite men. His secondary he watched especially closely. When it was the man’s turn to take his team into the mountains to train, Kuai quietly followed them. He took to the trees, stalking after his second, using years of practice that he had accumulated with Bi Han before the tournament that changed their lives. Those that were “targets” wore a yellow band around their arms. Those that were “assassins” wore red. The instructor wore red this time. He was not hard to follow.

Within twenty minutes all the “targets” had been taken down, either pounced on from above with their red band pulled off and in the other’s hand or grabbed from behind a tree. Kuai was pleased when he pounced on the instructor and without having even known he was there, the man rolled out of his way and stood armed and ready. Had this been a fighting exercise as well he might have charged the man and fought him properly. But this was about stealth and taking out a more powerful enemy with minimal conflict. Ideally none of his men would fight any of the enemy directly. 

That the instructor could perform was to be expected however. The students had done poorly by comparison. “None of you were ready,” he told the group gathered, meaning the targets and judging by the way they lowered their eyes, “even with advanced knowledge. Your hunters went through the same training you did, know the same techniques, and still you could not find them, much less stop them. Your fear overruled your training. Such a mistake will cost you more than just your pride if you do not correct it.”

To the instructor he said “Again. Use the secondary field. Switch the teams around. Keep them training until there is improvement.”

“Yes Grandmaster.”

Kuai returned the man’s bow and returned to the compound. He had a dragon to care for and set free for a few hours before he trained with Frost and a call he had to make. Perhaps Kenshi would be well enough he could hear the man’s voice for once. He was starting to miss the sound of it. Ha! Kuai might have laughed at himself at that thought were he the type to do so. He sounded like a love sick maiden. No doubt Master Hasashi would have enjoyed having such a form of blackmail to hang over his head if he knew. 

It was as he was making his trip to the dragon’s cavern that the communicator vibrated in his pocket. He paused in his trip, uncaring that the sun was setting and the temperatures were beginning to drop. “Sub Zero here,” he said as seriously as ever. He had expected to see Sonya, Johnny or Takeda. Instead it was Raidan’s image that flickered over the hologram, his small features looking as stern as ever. Kuai held his tongue against the words he wanted to say. He’d wait to hear what the so-called god had to say.

“Kuai Liang. We must have words.”

“Are we not talking now? Speak.”

“No. Not over this.” 

A moment later from the empty skies above a bolt of lightning came down and with it the god that commanded it. Kuai tucked the communicator away and folded his arms over his chest. “What can I do for you, thunder god?”

“You can return your mounts to Outworld where you found them.”

“They choose to serve the Lin Kuei.”

“They do not belong in Earthrealm.”

“You do not belong in Outworld yet still you claim it.”

He did not imagine the furrow in Raiden’s brow or the way his relaxed stance tensed. Kuai gathered power down his arms, chilling the already cold air around him further. He was unprepared for battle against the god but that did not mean he would back down. “How did you know about that?”

“Do you think the Lin Kuei are without allies? We protect Earthrealm as you claim to do. It is in our interest to know the politics and sways of power in the realms beyond it.”

“It is for Earthrealm’s protection that I eliminate our enemies.”

“And in doing so become the very tyrant you so stood against.”

“So you will not do as I command? Return the dragons to Outworld and swear alliegence to me?”

“We are sworn to protect Earthrealm. The dragons are our means of doing so when we once again face the flying demons of Netherrealm.”

Lightning crackled down Raiden’s arms, jumping between his fingers. “If you do not join me, then you are against me.”

Kuai placed a hand over his face to create a protective mask over his face of the coldest ice he could muster. Normally he only wore the mask when fighting outside of the cold for the warmth hurt his lungs and burned at his chest. He did not trust that the god would not suddenly transport them somewhere similar just to have him at a disadvantage. He took a defensive stance, knowing that sooner or later his men would come to check on him as he had not arrived at his intended destination. “You would bring war down upon the people of Earthrealm. That I cannot abide.”

He had expected Raiden’s first attack and prepared for it but the speed of the second he had not. The god was strong even if he relied heavily on his otherworldly magic in Kombat. Had Kuai been human his bones would have snapped easily under the force he was struck by. His cyromancer blood, however, made him stronger as well as gave him the ability to freeze. He quickly got to his feet and counter attacked, forming blades of hardest ice to strike at the god’s skin. Raiden never wore full armor though Kuai could never decipher why that was. Perhaps arrogance? Either way the god’s blood spilled on the snow, even as Kuai’s blood soon mixed with it.

Ice met lightning. Lightning burned flesh. Ice froze muscles in place as powerful blows left bruises and would have shattered the bones of lesser being. Their fight could not have lasted more than a minute or two at most before Raiden finally fell, even if it was just for a moment. Kuai’s breathing was labored. The fight was far from easy. Yet even as he waited to see what the god would do next he did not bother to hold his tongue now.

“I have fought too long and too hard to be free of my chains, Raiden. I and my Lin Kuei bow to no one, answer to no one but ourselves. It is our duty to ensure the people of Earthrealm know that same freedom… even if it is from their own so called protector.”

Raiden got to his feet, dusted the snow from his clothes and took an offensive stance again. “All that I do I do for the protection of the people of Earthrealm!”

“The road to Hell is often paved with good intentions.”

Again they fought. Again they lashed out with everything they had at one another. Kuai could not let Raiden win, could not let himself bow to one who could kill any who would oppose him. Such a man would use the Lin Kuei to further their own power than for the good of the people and he would not stand for such. Not when men like Kenshi would gladly give their lives to protect the very people being oppressed by the man who would hold their leash.

This time when he knocked Raiden down to his knees, Kuai looked up just enough to see the remainder of the Lin Kuei gathered around the pair of them. Kuai’s dragon had emerged from her cavern, her children as enraged as she was, her voice loud in the cold night even as a few warriors of the Lin Kuei carried torches to light both their way and light the battle going on. Raiden struggled to his feet again, holding his wounded side. Sub Zero stood tall though he lowered his hands. “Leave, thunder god, while you can and know that the Lin Kuei will always stand for the people, regardless of whom we must protect them from.”

“This matter is far from settled, Sub Zero.”

“Then I will look forward to your next challenge.”

There was a crack of lightning and Raiden disappeared with it. Kuai took the mask from his face then and shattered it in his palm. Frost ran to his side, her hands immediately going to his deeper wounds, pressing ice deep into them. He grunted at the sudden pressure and looked at her sharply before taking over. His second in command joined them shortly. “Grandmaster? What is going on? What happened?”

“Where were you?!” Frost snapped, “The Grandmaster was attacked on temple grounds and you did nothing?!”

“Enough!” Kuai snapped at her, “It is a moot point.” Kuai had his second in command relay orders to get the rest of the Lin Kuei while Frost helped him back into the temple specifically back to his quarters. He wanted to handle bandaging his own wounds as he had all these years but some of them were too deep or too oddly placed to be able to get to them effectively. He sighed and wished Kenshi were here. His gentle warm hands would be welcome not only for their experience in working with similar wounds before. 

Instead he had Frost trying to push off his clothes, her eyes too hungry and predatory for his taste. “I can take care of it myself.”

“Don’t be foolish Grandmaster! Some of these you can’t even reach.”

“Then bring me the healer.”

“He knows only human anatomy.”

“We are not so different Frost. Bring him.”

“I can help you, Grandmaster! Let me!”

Kuai threw Frost across the room with force of the ice he conjured in one palm. He didn’t freeze her, not this time. He didn’t think he would have the strength to move her from the room before he fell asleep if he did. His effort, however, did pull from the ice that had been used to seal one of his wounds. He cried out as he pressed a hand to it, blood seeping into his fingers. He cursed beneath his breath, forcing himself to breathe through the pain. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Frost got to her feet. “Get. The. Healer. Now,” he growled.

This time she did as he bade leaving him alone in his dark bedroom for a short while. He considered getting up to light a few candles about the room but he didn’t want to risk opening his wound any more than he already had. He tried to remember how he got the injury. Raiden didn’t use blade so what cut him? What tore open his skin deep enough to hurt him like this? A stone from the ground perhaps? His mind was too confused by the lightning he had been struck by throughout the battle. He genuinely couldn’t remember.

His fingers sought out the crest that Kenshi gave him from his belt pocket and as he lay out on his bed he pressed the cool gold against his chest. He decided he would have to find a chain to wear it on later. After he had rested and his wounds healed. He heard his communicator make a sound again. He was half tempted to ignore it. Instead he left the crest on his chest and used the hand not holding his wound to fish it out and prop it so that he would seem like he was standing. “S-Sub Zero speaking.”

The hologram he came face to face with was not Sonya or Takeda but rather Kenshi himself. Kuai felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. Kenshi had clearly gently stolen a communicator from someone. He wore no bandage over his eyes, meaning it was likely dark where he was and his eyes glowed even through the image. His beard looked freshly trimmed and he looked lean but not too thin. The smile that had been on his face faltered. “Kuai? Are you alright?”

“Yes. Just a bit sore from sparring.”

“Sparring? Against who?”

Before Kuai could answer the door to his room opened and he heard the sound of the healer shuffling in and another closing the door behind him. “I will have to call you back Kenshi. I need to apply an ointment to the worst of it.”

The candles were lit and he flinched at the light before the sound of the healer’s bag set against the ground. The communicator was taken from his hand and it was set aside to coax him to sit up. He did so, for once glad that Kenshi could not see what was going on. But that did not mean he could not hear and Frost, also being in the room was neither blind nor dumb. Her rage turned the room cold and the healer snapped at her. If Kenshi could hear any of them he did not know. The crest that had been on his chest earlier fell into his hand. He held it gently while the doctor removed his vest and began working at his wound. 

Kuai eased the ice from his wound, biting his tongue gently as he did so against the pain. The cold had numbed it, slowed the bleeding and as the man’s hands worked to clean the injury and carefully stitch the skin back together the grandmaster watched the hologram of his beloved who seemed to be waiting patiently. Either that or he was listening carefully. After the deepest wound was handled, careful hands sought other minor wounds. Some of the damage done would fade with time spent in the cold. He had never been able to handle Raiden’s damned lightning very well but it seemed his resistance to it faded with time. His hands had a minor tremor in them they hadn’t had before and he felt breathless still though he should have recovered his breath long ago from the fight. If it was not better in the morning he would look elsewhere.

The healer found no broken bones (mostly because in the ice and snow those healed almost immediately after the fight ended) and nothing else about him that needed his help. Frost was right in that the man did not understand cryomancer anatomy but he didn’t pretend to know it either. His recommendation was rest and to give himself the time he needed to heal back to par. Frost stepped closer as the man left, her mask set aside on his bedside table. Her eyes were hard but she waited until the healer was gone before she stepped close enough to touch. Kuai let ice travel down his arms. “Do not touch me.”

“If you need help with your wounds, Grandmaster, let me help you next time. You should not have to suffer the indecency of someone who does not understand what our kind needs.”

“I will see to it that I do not need such assistance again.”

Frost turned from him instead to snarl at the hologram of Kenshi. “I did not mean just the healer, Grandmaster.”

She left without another word, taking her mask with her. Her footsteps were far from quiet. She might start to spread rumors amongst the others though the wiser of the Lin Kuei would know better than to take her words as truth. Although he and Kenshi had done all they could to keep their personal relationship behind the privacy of closed doors he was under no illusions that those that patrolled at night had no idea what they did behind closed doors. Kenshi on more than one occasion had not been able to muffle his cries quickly enough. Not that Kuai had not been happy to hear them mind you.

With both of his “guests” gone Kuai Liang turned his attention to the communicator where Kenshi raised his chin and seemed to be looking in what would be his direction with a questionable glance. He sighed and knew he could not keep the truth from him. But more than that Sonya needed to know. “Is it morning where you are?”

“Not yet. I think there are a couple of hours.”

“When the sun rises I will call Sonya and have her gather the relevant people, including yourself. This is important.”


	10. To Take on a God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuai reports to Sonya and the others about his encounter with Raiden, then goes to the Special Forces to plan.

Kuai took the time before the sunrise by the Special Forces to rest while he could, concentrating on keeping his room as cold as possible to coax his damaged skin to heal. The bruises disappeared within a few moments. His deep wound closed within an hour or two. The tremor in his hands took longer as did the breathlessness in his lungs. But by the time he knew the sun to rise above the Special Forces’ camp where he had left Kenshi to get better he was back to his old self, had dressed in new clothing and was prepared.

He made sure to gather the highest ranking of his Lin Kuei masters in the room where he set the communicator in the center of the small table. They needed to know what information he had as well. It was another change he had made from the way the Lin Kuei had done things before. There would be no secrets between himself and his officers. All would know what was going on. Any plan of attack or defense would be decided upon by the many rather than just the one. After all who would know their men better than they?

When the communicator was turned on he was not surprised to see that Sonya had gathered the others in a similar area within the Special Forces’ camp. He saw Johnny, Kenshi with her as well as the children. He was relieve to see Hanzo was not amongst them. Given that the Shirari-Ryu had served Raiden when he invaded Outworld he did not doubt that their Grandmaster was somehow sworn or shackled into the god’s service rather than the service to the people of Earthrealm. No doubt Takeda was hurt by his grandmaster’s betrayal. Kuai knew the feeling all too well.

“Alright, Sub Zero, we’re all here,” Johnny said, serious for once. Kuai wondered how long it was going to last. “What is it you had to say?”

“Last night I was confronted by Raiden just outside the grounds of my own temple. He demanded I return the Lin Kuei dragons to Outworld.”

“Well they are dragons…”

Sonya silenced her daughter with a glare no doubt from under her hat. Kuai paid them no heed. “I refused. They chose to serve us and are no danger to the people of Earthrealm. I questioned his need to claim Outworld. He declared me his enemy and we fought. I put him down both times before he left and claimed our discussion was not over. He has become unstable. His need to protect Earthrealm has pushed him too far.”

“Yeah well, it seems Raiden’s not our only problem.”

“What did you learn from Kano, general?”

“The kid that infiltrated the temple with him? That was his son. The kid’s been brainwashed to dangerous degrees. Found all kinds of torture on him. Apparently they were hired by somebody in Outworld with power to take out Earthrealm defenses, starting with the Lin Kuei.”

The warriors around the table all perked up at this and not in a good way. Kuai’s hands clenched just out of sight. Could they not know peace for one generation? Just one? He had sent more than enough of the young and promising into the next life. He was not keen to send more over such a petty squabble.

“Did he say who?”

“The kid didn’t know. Kano’s not talking. Not yet anyway. Was going to have Kenshi and Takeda give him a shot later today. Not entirely by the book but this is important.”  
Kuai looked at Kenshi’s figure in the hologram who seemed to sense his stare. He looked uncomfortable with the idea but nodded anyway. Reluctant but willing to surrender to it for the greater good. Either that or he was unwilling to allow Takeda to shoulder the karma of such an invasion in the privacy of another. It was an aspect to him that Kuai both respected and found endlessly frustrating.

“The Lin Kuei will stand ready for another attack. However I fear that our enemies will not all be from Outworld.”

“You think an inside group?”

“The Shirai-Ryu were the army Raiden used to overtake Kotal Kahn were they not? I do not doubt Grandmaster Hasashi would turn Shirai-Ryu blades against the Lin Kuei or the Special Forces were he to command it.”

“No!” Takeda protested but even Kuai heard the uncertainty in his words. “He… he wouldn’t. The Shirai-Ryu are sworn to protect Earthrealm.”

“At any cost?”

“I…”

Kenshi said something to his son through the bond they carried, his eyes not quite watching Takeda and his head tilting slightly. Whatever he said calmed the boy though his hurt clearly shone through his features even through the hologram. Sonya did not seem surprised, nor Johnny. It was odd to see so many of his allies resigned to turn on another. But Kuai supposed that such was the purpose of their alliance to begin with, a check of power both to each other as well as a united front against whatever enemy they may face from another realm.

“Right. So we have to prep for an attack on two fronts,” Sonya said, the wheels on her head turning already. Johnny wisely chose to say nothing while she thought. War was far from his area of expertise. 

“I would suggest against a preemptive attack. We do not want to make ourselves seem the villains should this escalate beyond our borders.”

“What about gathering some Outworld allies?” Jacqui suggested from where she sat at the table, Takeda standing like a protector at her back, “There have got to be people in Outworld who really dislike the fact Raiden just decided to take over like that.”

“Yeah and then we end up with another civil war going on out there with our fingers very distinctly tied into that mess,” Cassie answered. “Nobody in the right mind stands up to Raiden out there.”

“And how many sane people live in Outworld?”

A few names came to mind, names that he knew he could not put out there without a very good explanation. Still they were formidable warriors and against Raiden and the Shirai-Ryu they could use all they had. “Raiden opposed those who stood for Kotal Kahn’s rule of Outworld. The Kahn’s claim to the throne aside those that stood with him and survived no doubt would rather see one of their own rule over their realm.”

Kuai had expected Johnny’s almost immediate “Now wait a damn minute.” Of course he would be the first to object. “You’re saying we should ally ourselves with those looney tunes?”

“If we wish for support from Outworld. The Lin Kuei should be able to keep the Shirai-Ryu occupied should there be an attack but can the Special Forces hold against the White Lotus and even Raiden himself?”

“If nothing else we need somebody to keep Outworld rebels occupied so they don’t jump in willy-nilly and start taking everybody out,” Sonya added in. 

Johnny opened his mouth to protest again but this time Kenshi spoke up. “What about the dragon riders of the Lin Kuei? Use them as a defensive measure at the entry points from Outworld. Have them and a few of the Special Forces focused on them as a defensive measure while the rest of us move to attack.”

One of the Lin Kuei masters, a younger warrior who had skill and fought in the battle with Kotal Kahn for the first time asked a question. “Grandmaster, how would Outworld even know of the affairs of Earthrealm? Surely the battles we speak of will be fought in Earthrealm?”

“Do you truly think none of our number hail from Outworld? Would not have loyalty to their home realm above all others? We have had many new warriors join our clan since Kotal Khan’s defeat. It is a simple matter for some to hold back their strength and skill and thus make themselves appear human.”

The master did not speak up again though he did seem to turn his thoughts inward as if considering all the warriors that had joined since the battle with Kotal Kahn. Kuai turned his attention back to the soldiers and his beloved, who seemed agitated slightly. He would have to speak to the man later in private if possible. He imagined this entire idea sat as well with the swordsman as it did himself.

Sonya, being the commander she was, decided the matter. “Alright then. We need to carefully plan and time our attack. I’ll need some time to think on it from our side. Sub Zero, you think your Lin Kuei can handle themselves for a week or two? Communicators can be hacked and we don’t want these kinds of details getting out.”

Personally Kuai thought his temple was safer but he didn’t have the resources nor the means to communicate with a large network of men to get things in motion. He supposed it would have to do. He looked to his second in command who nodded subtly. “Of course. Would you prefer I use conventional means or…?”

“We’re trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Surprisingly a big ass dragon will draw attention.”

“Then I will await your helicopter escort general.”

“Good. I’ll send one right away. It should be there within the hour.”

“Understood.” 

The hologram shut off as if the word alone was enough to turn it off. The masters around the table stared at him, waiting orders. “Keep stealth training in the woods but practice all other training indoors. We need to improve our swordsmanship to face the Shirai-Ryu. Should they come while I am away, Frost is the only one of us cleared to engage Scorpion.” He did not say that she was the only one likely to survive a fight with the former wraith, especially with the hellfire he still commanded even as a living man. She would have to focus, use her mind rather than her strength if she hoped to best him, and she knew it. Hopefully she would be able to think clearly enough to do so.

He told the men that he’d leave any more detailed instructions to his second in command and dismissed the group, waiting until they all bowed in their seats and left the area before getting up himself. So it had come to this. War. Yet again. He was starting to feel like he was getting too old for such things. He imagined many of the original Kombatants were. He wondered how many were going to walk away from this one and how many would have to be sent into the next world before this matter was settled again.

He didn’t have many things to pack up for a week amongst the humans. He did make sure to have his mask with him though. While Articka was cool enough to keep him from overheating at all times the human world was often too warm for his body to handle. It was draining to try and keep the air immediately around him cool enough to be comfortable. It was not the first time he had to deal with such and it would not be the last. It was likely something he would have to deal with more with a human lover. Provided they both survived this mess, it was something he would have consider more carefully. Articka was not a place many men could handle very well, especially at an advanced age.

He was ready by the time the helicopter arrived, having added a black undershirt to his Lin Kuei vest if only to provide an extra layer of protection against the heat. He climbed in without saying a word, already feeling the wary stare of the Special Forces soldiers on the helicopter with him. He sighed and put the mask on before offering his wrists for them to bind. Some looked eager but their commander shook his head. Instead Kuai kept his hands folded together and well where the soldiers could see them.

The flight was long one that had to be navigated carefully out of the remote region where the temple was located. Kuai took the time to meditate even if it wasn’t the ideal conditions to do so in. He kept a tight rein on his abilities if only to avoid unnerving the humans around him as he did so. This time when he spoke to his inner self it was about strategy and preparing the Lin Kuei. Outworld would be foolish to not take advantage of the inner conflicts of Earthrealm as an opportunity to attack… or rather it would if it had any clear successor anymore. How many of Kotal Kahn’s warriors had been eradicated was hard to estimate. The Lin Kuei had taken almost half the army. With both Raiden and the Shirai-Ryu… and what had become of the Kombatants that had sided with the Kahn? Had they been captured? Killed? Or did they walk free?

He had no clear answers for the latter by the time the helicopter landed though perhaps a rough estimate for the former. When he emerged from it he was glad to see that it was Sonya rather than Kenshi who greeted him. “Master Liang,” she said politely though it sounded odd to hear her say it, “Glad you could make it.” A show for her men then. He could play along.

“The Lin Kuei are prepared to assist the Special Forces on this matter,” he replied and bowed respectfully to her. He knew the American would not bow back. Such was not their custom. But it was a part of his and he would not neglect it for another’s ignorance. 

She turned just as he straightened and he followed relatively closely behind her, more than aware of the suspicious looks he was getting. He had no doubt that with the mask over his face he looked like he had as a revenant. The few soldiers he could remember facing had not lasted long against him. He hoped they had at least died painlessly. He could not remember much detail of that battle other than the driving need to put an end to Johnny Cage. 

“You can set your things in the consultant’s barracks. I’ve got one assigned for you across from Kenshi. Figured you could use the space to do whatever it is you ice people do to get comfortable without worrying about connecting walls and such.” It was a considerate gesture… even if a crude way of putting it. Kuai could accept that at least. “Do you need time to get settled?”

“No,” he said, disliking how the mask distorted his voice slightly but needing it over his face anyway, “I have few things with me. I will settle after our duties for the day are done.”

She seemed to approve and led him through her camp to an office full of equipment around a crude set of tables and chairs that seemed barely updated from when the camp was initially set up. Having never seen the inside of such a room before Kuai could admit that he was impressed and glad that he had come. There as far more information here than he could have gathered from the Lin Kuei temple. That and the change of pace from the sequestered life he had lived this last decade felt like a nice cold breeze over the mountains.

“Well well! Look who decided to join us!”

“Mister Cage, could you not-”

“It’s Jack Frost himself!” 

Kuai sighed to himself but ignored Johnny’s words. The man had never stopped before upon request and it was highly doubtful that the man would consider stopping now. They had more important matters to attend anyway. Kuai had made sure amongst his things to pack a current roster of the Lin Kuei warriors under his command, their specialties and their known origins. He was sure General Blade would want her people to look into each of them personally. He knew most of his men himself but not all. He had been… distracted… for a time.

He presented the files on the table, all of the containing photos and the records he had on each person. He wasn’t overly concerned that they weren’t in English. Someone amongst the Special Forces could no doubt read and translate them if need be. “The Lin Kuei have gathered a force of over a hundred skilled men and women, including myself and Frost,” he said, “of that hundred, most are trained to use the shadows and stealth to take down their targets. Only twenty or so are trained as dragon riders, myself included. Each dragon chose their rider and has been trained for combat. The smaller ones have been fitted with some armor.”

Sonya focused all of her attention on him. “Alright so we’ve got some non-technical air support. Good. Lightning effects on ‘em?”

“Same as with any living creature from what I’ve been able to tell. But like Frost and myself they are not of Earthrealm. They are more resistant to it than most humans.”

“Still better than nothing. Cassie, what have you got?”

“Not a whole lot. Takeda hasn’t heard anything from the Shirai-Ryu since they went to Outworld and he can’t sense where they are either.”

“It is unlikely that they would remain for long in Outworld. As skilled as they are by human standards their colors would make them obvious targets and dissenters would see their humanity as a weakness to exploit,” Kuai interjected. For all that they were rival clans warriors were warriors. He would see lives needlessly thrown away.

“Then perhaps they are with Raiden at the Sky Temple?” Kenshi suggested.

“One more reason to avoid a direct attack.”

“Just a thought,” Johnny said after a minute, not even bothering to look at the paperwork in front of him, “But what if we went up to Raiden, called him on his bullshit hypocrisy and challenge him and his buddies to a duel? We win he returns Outworld to the people and if he wins he gets to keep it and we’ll leave him alone.”

Sonya was unimpressed. “You’d call him Shao Kahn. To his face.”

“He’s doing the exact same thing right? Only the other way around?”

Johnny was not wrong but that didn’t mean they did not have to tread carefully. The question was who would be best to send. “It is not completely out of the question,” Kuai did bring up before Kenshi could, “but the matter of the messenger would be one to consider carefully. I am of Outworld blood and my clan has employed the use of Outworld creatures in our service to Earthrealm. He will not listen to my words.”

”I could do it,” Kenshi said quietly, “As I am of Earthrealm and am a neutral party.”

“But you work for the Special Forces,” Jacqui pointed out. 

“As a consultant. I am not officially part of it, nor am I one of the Lin Kuei, White Lotus or Shirai Ryu.”

“And you would face the thunder god alone?” Given how his last scrapping with the god turned out Kuai admitted to himself concern. Kenshi was a formidable fighter against most. Raiden as he was now… a staff could not have created the wounds he had recently recovered from.

“If I must.”

“Alright, fine. We’ll consider that Plan A,” Sonya decided for them, “but if that falls through-”

“You mean when it falls through,” Kung Jin added unhelpfully.

“We’re going to need a back-up plan. Takeda, you’ve trained with the Shirai-Ryu. What’s the best way to keep them engaged with minimum causalities?”

Takeda seemed hesitant to answer, afraid of betraying those he had once considered family. But on the screens surrounding them were images of Outworld under Raiden’s rule and while the streets were not as bloodied as they once were executions for whisperings against him were common. Resistance leaders were tortured in the streets for all of the people to see. There was no audio but Kuai didn’t need it to hear the screams. Kano had done most of the leaders personally. This is what had become of Outworld since Raiden’s rule, since the Shirai-Ryu had turned their blades to the armies of Outworld and began serving Raiden without question. 

“I… I haven’t trained with them for a while, since before we got rid of Shinnock and dad and I wiped out the Red Dragon. But from what I remember…”

Kuai listened to Takeda’s words with half an ear, already knowing what he spoke of. The Lin Kuei might not have engaged the Shirai-Ryu since he had become grandmaster but that did not mean he did not watch how Hanzo Hasashi carried himself or how he fought since they were both returned to the world of the living. He imagined some of Takeda’s information being a little outdated as it had been ten years since the young man had fought with them but the Lin Kuei had only changed details in the way they fought in the same amount of time, studied and added new techniques but the fundamentals remained the same. He believed the Shirai-Ryu had done something similar.  


Sonya drilled the young man further on his information, trying to sort out more details, but Kuai stopped listening to them when he heard Kenshi’s soothing voice in his head. ‘I was not away so long that you’ve forgotten how to smile have you?’ Kuai stayed as still as possible, watching the argument with his eyes even as his attention turned elsewhere. He told Kenshi through his thoughts that he had not forgotten but had a hard time doing so without the man nearby to make them come easier.

‘For a cyromancer you are certainly warm in spirit.’

‘We are not cold in heart, Kenshi. You of all people should know this.’

‘Oh I know. When this is done, may I pay you a visit in your quarters?’

‘As they are across from yours I imagine it would not be difficult.’

‘Good. There is something I want to talk to you about.’

And there was something Kuai wanted to speak to Kenshi about too so he readily agreed and turned his attention back to the meeting at hand. If Takeda read their internal conversation he did not show it. Kuai was relieved. He imagined it to be an awkward situation for anyone’s son to have to listen to.

It was late by the time the meeting had concluded and despite the layers he had worn in an effort to keep his skin cool Kuai had felt a little overheated regardless. Kenshi had offered to show him to his quarters and when no one objected the pair went together toward the small, off to the side building being used for such purposes. There was a passcode that Kenshi typed in quickly as soon as his fingers found the keys and once inside the main building there were six doors, three on each side, and a bathroom at the end of the short hall. 

Kenshi’s room was the furthest down the hall on the left hand side. Kuai knew his assigned quarters to be the on the right when the door slid open as he stepped by and a woman’s voice welcomed him. Special Forces and their technologies… No wonder most of their soldiers were useless on a battlefield without a gun of some sort in their hands. Yet he could feel how cold the room he was to use was kept and couldn’t help but feel grateful. It was no ideal but it would certainly help after he took a cold shower and used the water to form yet another layer of ice inside the room. But such indulgences were for later. As in after the conversation he and Kenshi needed to have.  


He followed the human into his own quarters. Their conversation was not one for outside ears. Nor were other matters.


	11. The Heat of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuai overheats after making love with Kenshi, further proof (to him) that their biology is too different. But he can't bear to let Kenshi go... not after waiting so long to be with him.

The door had barely closed behind them when Kenshi’s fingers found the straps of Kuai’s mask and deftly pulled the straps apart, discarding the protective piece somewhere else the room seconds before pulling the man into a kiss. Kuai didn’t try to stop himself from falling into it, pulling more narrow hips against his and holding the more slender body easily against him. He had missed this, missed the wet warmth of his lover’s tongue against his, the difference in the temperatures of their breaths mingling. He wanted to feel more of that warmth against his already overheated skin if only to feel the fiery traces of his beloved’s touch where he allowed no other. His memories had only been able to do so much.

Kuai had not bothered to seal his thoughts from Kenshi. He knew the man saw or heard each of them. Perhaps that as why Kenshi started stepping away, never breaking their kiss, guiding him through the relatively small quarters to a bed barely large enough for one person. They separated just long enough to start undressing each other, fingers that had no touched one another’s clothing in weeks finding the knots and snaps as easily as ever. Pieces fell this way and that and only when the pair of them were completely nude did they fall into the bed together, Kuai easily taking Kenshi’s weight as the warrior cast aside his blindfold, the last piece of cloth he wore.

“You sounded badly hurt last night,” Kenshi said as he settled over him, fingers tracing over Kuai’s skin as Kuai moved his arms out of the way to let him ‘see’ to his heart’s content, “I am surprised you did not let Frost help you. She was right. She does know more about how to help your wounds than a human healer would.”

“I did not want her to touch what is not hers,” Kuai replied, lifting his hips slightly as both a show of strength and his eagerness, “I am not so cruel as to give her false hope. But what of you? Have you ears healed completely?”

“Just the odd bout of dizziness but that passes quickly enough.”

“You will let me know if I hurt you?”

“Only if you do the same.”

“Then consider it done.”

They came together again, Kenshi pressing him down with all is weight, human fingers threading through Kuai’s thick hair and human teeth nipping at the skin of his neck and chest. His body, as warm as it was, tried to cool the air around him instinctively. He was able to temper the instinct, kept it from getting too cold but only by keeping his hands away from Kenshi’s body. The swordsman seemed to enjoy the difference in their body temperatures almost as much as he did. Almost. Human bodies were not so warm that the touch of his lover’s lips or fingers on his skin could literally burn him but the cold of Kuai’s body could burn Kenshi’s skin if he wasn’t careful.  


Kuai barely noticed when the metal wall he pressed his hands against to keep them away from Kenshi’s body formed a layer of ice and trapped his own hands inside. He was too consumed by the warmth that was suddenly between his spread thighs, the wet warmth of Kenshi’s mouth on him, swallowing him down to the root time and time again. He wished he had the means to muffle his whimpers and soft cries of pleasure. He didn’t want to risk Cage overhearing any of this. But Kenshi didn’t seem inclined to help him this time. Hot hands kneaded at the muscles of Kuai’s ass while he swallowed what he could. 

Then those hot hands moved elsewhere. There was some fiddling and then something pleasantly cool pressed against his ass. He sighed as he closed his eyes and concentrated on opening himself up for his lover, letting his muscles relax and those fingers first slip inside and stretch out what muscles he could reach to make the slide of something bigger easier. It didn’t take all that long before those fingers were replaced by what he craved and he groaned as he felt their bodies slide together again as if they had always meant to be that way. 

Kuai kept his eyes closed this time, just enjoying the feel of his lover’s body against him, whispering his encouragements in English and Chinese, unknowing and uncaring if Kenshi understood them until Kenshi would silence him with another devastating kiss, taking his voice as he took his body. Kuai had no issue with this. He changed the angle of his hips to make things easier for Kenshi. He did not care that his body fought desperately to cool itself and was failing with all this friction heat between himself and his lover. He would deal with that later. All that mattered was that they were together now. 

Kuai felt teeth bury themselves deep in his skin, almost enough to draw blood as a sharp change in pace. He felt his pleasure build. He broke the crest of it when he felt a pulse of warmth within him and heard his lover’s moan against his skin. His eyes flew open upon his release and he fought to silence his own moan of pleasure. The ice around his hands broke suddenly. His chest felt tight. He ignored it in favor of the pleasure that flooded his system and he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Kenshi and hold him close. This was where he was meant to be… with the man he loved in his arms, safe and protected from the world no matter how backwards it had seemingly become. 

Kuai had nearly fallen asleep when Kenshi moved, probably uncomfortable with the mess he was being held against. Kuai let him go, sure he was only doing so because he was tired. He barely felt the cool cloth against his skin cleaning up the remnants of their activities but he did feel the luke warm touch of Kenshi’s hand against his forehead. He heard a faint curse and then the hands cupping his face. Kenshi’s voice seemed far away for a moment then it sounded like it was echoing. 

’Kuai! Kuai can you hear me?’

“Now I can,” he said quietly, “what is it? What’s wrong?”

‘You feel almost as warm as I do!’

“Then… I need to cool down… Ice bath…. Cold shower… something….”

He could hear Kenshi muttering something then quickly pressing cool against his forehead. It felt nice. He let his mind drift. He must have dozed off because one minute he felt the soft material of bedding beneath his bed then he was being lowered into a pleasantly cold bath. He sighed and opened his eyes. Kenshi had dressed at some point and covered his eyes with sun glasses. He would have had to with the lights this bright. How had he not noticed the lights?

“Where did you get the ice?” he asked when the fog of his mind cleared a little bit more. He scooped up some of the cold water to splash on his face. It was warming but not too quickly. His body was making sure of that. “I hope you did not have someone bring it all.”

“I did not but I almost had to. Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well? That would have been an embarrassing call to the medic indeed.”

“I barely noticed,” Kuai answered honestly, “You distract me, Kenshi.”

“Too much it seems. You need to stay in the bath until your temperature drops considerably. How cool is your natural temperature supposed to be anyway?”

“The healer amongst the Lin Kuei may not know much of my people’s biology but he did keep some records. I average about twenty seven degrees Celsius.” 

“Twenty seven? Humans die if their core gets to be that cold.”

“Good thing I am not human then.”

“For your body temperature to be almost human…”

“Would be to me what would be near death to you.”

“How did this happen?”

“I did not have enough of my energy channeled to keeping my body cool during the meeting perhaps? The mask was not as effective as I thought? Perhaps you are still feverish?”

Kenshi touched Kuai’s forehead again and this time the hand felt hot against his skin. Not too hot but normal human temperatures. “Your temperature certainly seems better.”

“Another hour or so and I should be fit to return to my rooms and sleep this off.”

For a short while both men were quiet as if absorbing the details of this information. Kuai enjoyed the coolness of the bath while Kenshi sat beside him, occasionally running his fingers through the cold water that soaked Kuai’s thick hair and beard. But there was something they had to discuss. Something Kuai could not think of a better time to bring up really. “When this matter with Raiden is settled… I do not know what will become of us should we survive this.”

He felt Kenshi’s fingers twitch in his hair. He understood the man’s surprise. Had he not been contemplating it for some time he would have thought it had come out of the metaphorical left field too (whatever that meant). “This incident proves that we may be compatible souls but not physically. You could not live the rest of your life in the cold of Articka. I could not live here, amongst the humans, for the rest of my life either.”

“We could split our time between them. Spend the summers in Arctika and the winters in the human world.”

“Your body could not stay in such a cold environment for so long.”

“And you could not survive the heat for too long. So what is your solution, Kuai Liang? Do we end this now?”

By the gods did he resent that with every fiber of his being. He wanted nothing more than to be with Kenshi for as long as there was breath in their bodies and a blade in their hands. He had waited fifty six years to be with the man, another six to know what it was like to come home to someone who loved and cared for him. To surrender it broke his heart but to imagine something like this happening to Kenshi, to watch his beloved collapse from the cold, to hold him as his heart stopped beating or his breathing halted, he could not fathom it. He had heard dying in the cold was a merciful end compared to many others. There was no pain and after a while very little discomfort. Still he could bring himself to even indirectly be the one to kill Kenshi like that.

“No. Not yet. But it is something we must consider as we move forward with this mission. I am of Outworld. No matter how long lived your line is I still carry Outworld blood. No matter what we do I will very likely outlive you. Even if neither of die in the battles we will face with Raiden, even if we manage to save everyone…” Kuai reached out of the water and traced Kenshi’s cheek, feeling him shiver at the contact for a moment before leaning into it, “We are too different. We always have been and we always will be.”

“And you did not see fit to consider that before you courted me?”

“I could not see passed my selfish desires and wants. You are a beautiful man Kenshi in mind, body and soul. I have yet to meet another like you and I do not think I ever will again.”

“And what about now? Do you not consider your desires selfish?”

“Are they? I want only to set you free. To be with someone who cannot kill you with an unthinking touch and have a home that is too cold for you to live in.”

“Yes Kuai. They are.”

Could Kenshi not sense how difficult this was for him? How much he wished he did not have to give up what they had worked so hard to build between them? He tried to let the man see his fears but if Kenshi saw them he did not respond to them. Instead Kenshi’s hand caught his chilled one, their fingers entwining gently. “This is not the time to think of this,” the swordsman said quietly, “We have much more riding on our shoulders. But when we have more time we should sit together and think of solutions. This isn’t something we should give up so easily.”

“As you wish, my love.”

They sat in silence, merely holding hands for a while before Kuai felt better and stepped from the ice bath, unashamed of his nakedness. Kenshi brought him a towel and he dried off enough to be comfortable when he returned to the bedroom and began dressing again. Fortunately he had clothes beyond those of his Lin Kuei uniform to wear for the rest of week. First impressions were important however and it was by far safer to travel in the uniform than it was regular civilian clothing. He had just finished putting on the last pieces when he turned to Kenshi who was smiling from where he leaned against the wall, probably listening to him dress. Kuai didn’t fight back to urge to pull him into a kiss this time. 

Their kiss now was out of familiarity rather than a hunger from spending too long apart and Kuai could appreciate the slow gentleness of it just as well. Kenshi’s hands consciously stayed on his clothes this time but he could still feel the warm pressure through them, however faintly. “I should retire to my quarters to rest,” Kuai said as they separated, “I shall see you when the sun rises?”

“We can even grab breakfast together if we want before we return to the meetings.”

“Does the mess hall here at least serve a proper breakfast?”

“Nope. It’s all American fare.”

Kuai sighed and picked up his mask. It would have to do. At least Kenshi found it funny for some reason. American food was never very good after he had to chill it to reasonable temperatures. Still it wasn’t as if he has much of a choice in the matter. He was a guest of the Special Forces and he would act like it. “I will see you in the morning regardless.”

“Rest well, Kuai.”

“I certainly will now.”

He kissed Kenshi one more time before leaving the room to go across the hall into a room that compared to Kenshi’s felt amazing against his recently cooled skin. In this room he let his power stretch and chill everything even further before he pulled back just enough to avoid damaging anything. He dug through his bag for the items he would need for the next day and set them aside before setting the rest in a chest at the foot of the bed and sealing it with a thick layer of ice. He still had his evening meditations to do before he could settle to sleep. It would be a good exercise now to make sure everything was still intact in his own mind after that embarrassing episode. He still felt a little faint though thankfully it was late enough in the night nobody would question him going to sleep.

He had started to settle when there was a quiet knock at the door to his room, polite but not timid. He straightened how he sat and bade them to enter. He had to admit of all people he had not expected to see Takeda. While there was no animosity between them, just the rivalry of their clans, Kuai could not say that he had seen much of the boy since the group’s training with the Lin Kuei before Shinnock’s invasion. He muffled his thoughts but did not seal them. There was an element of privacy he wanted to maintain.

“What can I do for you, Chujin Takahashi?”

“I’m not part of the Shirai-Ryu anymore.”

“It is a title that is earned and worthy of respect. That you are no longer part of the clan is irrelevant.”

Takeda seemed uncertain how to take that statement but he did step further into the room, shivering almost immediately upon entering. Gone was the yellow bandana he used to wear, a mark of the clan he carried with him but the years had been kind to Takeda and he had grown to fill the wiry frame he had inherited from his father. His features were undoubtedly more like his mother’s though, his Thai heritage bold and proud. Kuai believed that Suchin must have been a beautiful woman in body and mind.

“I have something kinda personal to ask you about,” the boy said after a moment, trying to hide his shivering. Kuai chose to ignore it.

“Then ask though I cannot promise that I will answer.”

“You’re dating my dad right?”

“Courting, I believe is the word he uses.”

“Then you guys will be living at the Lin Kuei temple or will you be working with the Special Forces?”

“It is not a matter we have discussed yet. There are more immediate concerns. Why do you ask?”

Takeda hesitated before he spoke again. This time his voice was quiet as if uncertain. “It’s… Jacqui and I are getting married.”

“Congratulations.”

“And we want to have kids pretty soon after that and with the way things are…”

“You wish for your father to live close by.”

“In case something should happen to me and Jacqui, yeah. Not that Jax wouldn’t be happy to look after any would be grandkids but…”

“It is not the same as family.” Even if he had no children of his own and likely would never would he could understand the sentiment. The Lin Kuei was not the same without Bi Han. “It is something to consider certainly.”


	12. The Fierce Arctic Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team tries to come up with a plan for securing an Outworld ruler who is good on their word and Jacqui brings Kuai some more personal news.

The next morning Kuai Liang spent with the Special Forces was an interesting change of pace from what he was used to with the Lin Kuei. He rose at the same time and with Kenshi he would get breakfast in the mess with the other soldiers. The surprised looks he caught on the first day when he took off the mask to eat amused him. Did they think he could not survive with it? He wondered what kind of stories they told of him in the barracks to make them of him so. The food was barely edible but at least there was a decent tea to go with it.

Then it was on to meetings where he, Kenshi, Johnny and Sonya would gather and look over what information had been gathered in the night. Not much changed over the course of each day in Outworld but there was more information about Raiden’s enemies and rumors of fighters who were banding together to take the god down. “Some are viewing his invasion as a provocation but with no Emperor and no standing army they’re having a hard time gathering enough people together quietly to actually fight back.”

“So we must walk a delicate line,” Kenshi said, his fingers tracing the photographs although Kuai was certain he had seen them through someone’s mind, “and choose a successor for Outworld before we begin our talks in case we fail so that Outworld is kept at bay.”

“Is there anyone left in Outworld who would suit the title?” Kuai asked the group, glad that today he was better prepared to handle the heat and wore layers thick enough to allow his body to keep him cool, “From what I understand Kotal Kahn has lost the favor of the people after his defeat and the remainder of those who have the strength to command his people are mercenaries.”

“What about bug lady?” Johnny offered, “Or Hell, even you Ice T.”

“The Lin Kuei need my guidance as long as I can offer it.”

“And you can’t move them to Outworld? Make ‘em your personal guard or something?”

“We are sworn to guard and protect Earthrealm. We cannot do so from Outworld.” 

“Lame.”

Kaui did not dignify that with an answer. He almost felt the mental pat on the head Kenshi telepathically gave him for his effort. From anyone else it would seem condescending. From Kenshi he chose to interpret it as a part of an inside joke the two of them shared. It somehow felt more dignified that way. 

“I do not think D’Vorah would be a wise choice as she served Shinnock more than she served any Outworlder,” Kenshi added in, “Perhaps Li Mei? Bo’ Rai Cho?”

Kuai considered it. “Bo’ Rai Cho would not stand for the subjugation of his people, even by Raiden’s hand. He would aid us though I am not certain he would claim the throne of Outworld should we succeed and displacing the god without a clear successor of some kind.”

“Is he well enough to do even that? I heard that Shinnock had him tortured before he tried to corrupt the Jinsei.”

“If he has not healed enough from his wounds yet he will not heal from them. Even with his strength as diminished as it is he has skill enough to compensate.”

“Then who is left?” 

From then on the morning meetings were spent discussing potential Outworld leaders to sit in the vacated seat of power who would hold to any accord or deal that was made as clearly the Reiko Accords were a moot point now. They came up with no answers and by noon the group separated to eat lunch and think on matters before they were to gather again for the afternoon strategy meetings and simulations. Kuai and Kenshi often ate in Kuai’s quarters, cold as they were, to give him the opportunity to cool down again before sitting in the human-warm meeting room. Together they spoke of matters other than the battles to come. As far as Kuai was concerned this lunch was as good a time as any to bring up Takeda’s visit.

“I did sense my son’s presence but he kept his thoughts close to him,” Kenshi said when he brought it up, “What did he say to you?”

“He told me of his impending marriage to Jacqueline Briggs.” 

It was not hard to see the flush of pride in Kenshi’s posture and even the smile that tugged at his lips. Kuai wondered if that pride was from his son growing up and becoming a man in his own right or if it was because the boy did not make the same mistake Kenshi had and actually married his woman. The cyromancer had to shut down the negative thoughts that accompanied the latter fiercely. This was not about him and his insecurities. This was about Takeda and his wife.

“I was wondering when he would get around to that. They have been dancing around each other for some time.”

“He also asked me where we, as a pair, would live on a more permanent basis.”

Kenshi set the tea he was sipping down at that, as wary of the inquiry as Kuai had been. “Why? What would that matter?”

“He claims that upon his marriage to Jacqueline, they are planning to settle down together and begin their family together. He asked to know if you would be close by to watch over your grandchildren when they are born.”

“Grand-“

Kuai would have laughed at the look of shock on Kenshi’s face if he were the type to do so but inside moved closer to let the man lean against him if he wanted. “I imagine it may be a few years before such a thing comes to pass but it is something to consider should we choose to continue our relationship after all this is done.”

“I… I’m going to be a grandfather.”

“Presumably.”

“But… I’m not old enough to be one!”

“You have seen sixty years in this world, Kenshi. Regardless, there is no child yet.”

“But there will be!”

“And we will be prepared for the boy or girl when he or she comes into this world.”

Kuai finished his meal while Kenshi seemed to struggle to grasp the concept of Takeda being a father within the next decade. He was not wrong. For a man of his age Kenshi was still strong, agile and beautiful. He had a few deeper lines than he had his youth and his silver hair was starting to turn white in a few places but he still had a thick head of hair. Yet as strong, agile and beautiful as he was, Kenshi’s recent bout with near deafness proved that he could not bounce back from his wounds as he was once able to… nor did Kuai doubt his body could hold as well against illness should it come.

When the hour for meal time was up the pair returned to the meeting room to talk about their various gathered forces, strengths and weaknesses and the means by each they could be used should everything fall into conflict. They finished up the details on solid plan B, a use of their forces that may not guarantee victory but at least turn the odds far more in their favor before retiring for dinner and then free time. Kuai was not immediately hungry so while Kenshi went to train he instead he found a spot on an elevated railing and watched the soldiers drill. Despite the heat of the days the nights at least felt cooler.

This time when he was approached it was not by Takeda but Jacqui. He settled more comfortably against the railing, showing his trust by not turning to face her. He was fairly certain she would understand the sentiment even if she had not known betrayal like he had. “I’m assume Takeda talked to you.”

“Yes. I believe he is likely talking with Kenshi now before they begin their training.”

“Then you know we’re gonna get married after this latest snafu.”

“I do. He also mentioned the possibility of children.”

“You mean the reality of kids.”

Kuai turned to look at her, pale blue eyes assessing her appearance. She hadn’t seemed to have gained any weight but something about her that he couldn’t place was different. “Congratulations but does this not mean you put yourself and your child at risk by remaining with the Special Forces for this?”

“The way I see it, if Takeda and I can handle it, so can our kid.”

“Your father is aware?”

“He knows we are getting married.”

“But not this.”

“Psh no. He’d never let me leave the house and Takeda would be lucky if he’d be allowed within ten feet of me until the wedding.”

Kuai did turn to her then and smiled behind his mask. “Then I am honored to be amongst the first to hear of this news.” He was not family, not to her and not to Takeda. As far as he was concerned this was something Kenshi should have been made aware of first and then if Kenshi deemed it necessary brought to his attention. But he was aware times had changed and customs across cultures had changed as well.

“Listen, I didn’t just tell you this for nothing.”

Kuai straightened and ignored the grammatical slip. Her tone brokered no argument. He could remember her father speaking in a similar way when he last faced the man in the sparring ring.

But as confident as her tone was, she still shifted like she was still in the insecure teenager her father no doubt still saw her as. “Takeda knows and he’s going to no doubt try to protect me. I let Cassie know because I had to but she promised to keep her mouth shut about it unless it’s important. I’m telling you because it looks like you’re going to be the one keep an eye on Kenshi during this mess and I for one think that will all the other crap he’s dealt with in his life he deserves to get well ‘see’ his grandkid.”

“So you are telling me this to ensure I keep Kenshi safe?”

“Did I not just get through saying that?”

“I believe you misunderstand the nature of my relationship with Kenshi.”

The woman stared at him then, wary if confused. Kuai showed her the crest of the Takahashi family he wore, now on a durable chain and tucked underneath the layers of clothing he wore to keep cool. If she recognized the symbol for what it was she said nothing so he clarified. “Kenshi Takahashi gave me this crest of his family and I have carried with me since. In wearing it, it is at once a promise to him as my beloved and to his entire line. The Lin Kuei are sworn to protect Earthrealm. By accepting this and Kenshi’s love, I am sworn to protect him and his family with my life.”

Jacqui blinked as if surprised. “Um… wow. You take this kind of thing seriously.”

“It is not in my nature to take such things lightly.”

“Then I guess this was a good talk.”

As the soldier turned to leave Kuai quietly called her name, “I will hold your secret until you see fit to share it with the others but for Kenshi and Takeda’s sake do not needlessly put yourself in harm’s way. Your child’s parents are strong but the body is a fragile thing and often is too easily broken by the uncaring or the unknowing.” 

She sighed at his words as if he was not the first to say them and he well imagined that he wasn’t. But he was not lying when he said that he had sworn himself to protect his beloved and by extension his family with his life. He did not fear death’s cold embrace but that did not mean he would welcome it without a fight. He had a real family now.

That night when Kuai returned to his quarters he found Kenshi waiting for him. This time their lovemaking was slower. Kuai had been gentle when he took Kenshi in the cold sheets of his bed, not minding the fact that he had to use the blankets to cover their bodies before the physically older man beneath him caught chill. The fingers that dug into his back left marks Kaui knew would fade by morning and as he whispered filthy things in the man’s ear, promises of things he could and would do if not tonight then the next time they’d be joined he couldn’t help but lose himself in the sounds, smells and sensations of the man.

This time after they were done, Kuai cleaned their bodies with a warm wet hand cloth before casting it aside and laying out beside the man he loved, making sure he was tucked under the blankets to protect much of his warm skin from the chill. The cyromancer himself was in no hurry to redress while Kenshi caught his breath. He took his time to let his fingers trace over the lines of Kenshi’s body through the blankets. For a man of Kenshi’s age to still be so physical seemed unusual but Kuai was not complaining. He would not care if they never made love again provided Kenshi gladly stayed by his side.

“You know,” Kenshi said after a long moment, breaking the peaceful silence of the room and drawing Kuai from his thoughts, “there are days where I would gladly trade my telekinesis for the chance to see again. I have felt your body in so many ways, traced your face so many times, but it is not the same as I would imagine seeing you when we are like this.”

“Can you not slip into my mind as we sleep? Walk my dreams and see me?”

“The subconscious rarely shows one’s self as they truly are. Besides, such a thing is very rude.”

“Perhaps when we meditate in the morning then. I often speak to my subconscious when I first wake and before I sleep.”

“Or we could meditate now.”

“Now I fear you would fall asleep rather than mediate.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“If the general came to speak to you and found you naked in my bed perhaps.”

Kenshi’s laugh was light. “She would not mind I think. If anything she would be pleased to see I have tamed the great arctic wolf she feared at her back.”

“An arctic wolf?”

Kenshi fought the blankets that were wrapped so tightly around him to get his hands free and trace the both of them over Kuai’s face, through his beard and hair. “Yes. My fierce and loyal arctic wolf.”

“I am far from tamed, Kenshi.”

“And yet you would protect me and mine as fiercely as any wolf might his pack.”

Kuai smiled and he knew Kenshi could feel it. “Heard that did you?”

“You did not try to hide it from me earlier.”

“It is not something that I need to hide.” He would shout it from the rooftops if it would ward off those foolish enough to think the blind swordsman and his family were easy targets. But his beloved was a fighter, strong and graceful in his own right. To protect him like some fair maiden, however much Kuai felt the urge to, was an insult to him and his skills as sharp as they still were. It was something he knew about himself that he would have to learn to taper. 

Those gentle hands coaxed him into another kiss and Kuai leaned over Kenshi to balance himself more comfortably, conscious of his heavier body to avoid crushing him. Hot fingers rested comfortably over one of his flanks, hovering over the faint scar from the fight with Raiden earlier. He felt no pain at the site and unless he truly searched for it barely recognized the mark was there. He wondered if Kenshi could still feel it with his sensitive hands or if the cold of Kuai’s skin numbed them to the feeling of the different texture of it.

It was difficult when they separated again, Kuai’s forehead resting on Kenshi’s with their noses touching lightly as he just enjoyed the sensation of his Kenshi breathing against his face, to decide to let Kenshi return to his quarters but it had to be done. The swordsman seemed less than pleased by the decision as well but accepted it. Kuai got up and slipped underclothes on at least before helping Kenshi to gather his clothing of the day and put it on again. He rubbed at the material on Kenshi’s body to warm it up a little more quickly. He could feel his beloved shivering. 

“Shall I get up early tomorrow so that we may meditate together before breakfast?”

“If you wish.”

“I believe I know of a place on the grounds that will be deserted that time of day. We can use that place if you think it will be easier.”

As loathe as he was to sit in the summer heat for an extended period of time, even if it was before the sun rose, the fresh air even though his cooling mask, would do him some good. Well, relatively fresh air. With so many vehicles and machinery around the air in the camp could not compete with the cold, clean air of the mountains but it was better than the stuffy air in the barracks and the interruptions the pair of them were more likely to deal with. 

“It will do. Until the morning, my love.”

“Until then.” 

Kuai watched Kenshi leave his room, glowing blue eyes closed and with his armored coat in his hands but the blindfold he had worn earlier instead by Kuai’s bedside where he had left it. He was half tempted to return the strip of smooth red cloth but decided against it.


	13. Of Ice and Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Special Forces camp is attacked and Kuai faces the Scorpion again. This time he does not walk away unscathed and a decision is finally made.

The morning came with the sounds of alarms and shouts and screams. Kuai was on his feet in an instant, dressing his armor, prepared for a fight. He stepped out of his room, the leather of his armor pulled over his hair and the mask affixed firmly in place. He didn’t pay attention if Kenshi or Johnny followed him out but he did let his power flow down his arm and form ice around his feet. The soldiers of the Special Forces were scrambling for defensive positions. Even from this distance he could see Raiden standing at the fore of a gathered army. So the god struck first. That suited Sub Zero just fine. 

He aided what soldiers he could, taking out the White Lotus fighters or Shirai-Ryu that threatened to overwhelm the men. More than a few of the fools had tried attacking him directly. He hated the feeling of their blood on his hands as he knew they were doing little more than following the will of a god who had been twisted from his purpose by the unholy power of the Netherrealm or whatever source of magic it had been that Shinnock had used to poison the Jinsei before he tried to absorb it.  


He aimed to take on the god himself but was stopped by a familiar face in a yellow uniform with glowing yellow eyes. This was not right. Hanzo Hasashi’s eyes were a dark brown, a characteristic of his human Japanese heritage. Had Raiden done the same as Quan Chi? Enslaved a dead man’s soul to serve his twisted purpose? He had not thought that Hanzo had died in Outworld as a part of the invasion army. Surely the reports would have said as such. Yet there was something else wrong with him, something not quite human. 

“You,” he said, calling ice into his palm and letting his power stretch a bit. This was not going to be an easy battle. He could not afford to be distracted despite the chaos of the fighting around him. He had to trust that Kenshi and the others could look after themselves. He did not think that with that glow in his eyes that his opponent would see fit to let him live should he lose this fight. “What has become of you, Hanzo Hasashi? What has Raiden done to you and your Shirai-Ryu both?”

“He has given us a purpose we lacked,” the figure said, his voice echoing like it had once done when he walked the earth as the wraith Scorpion, “a purpose that you and the Special Forces seek to undo.”

“We merely wish to prevent another war between the realms, a war that your thunder god invites by conquering and subjugating the people of Outworld.”

“He grants them a mercy none of their tyrants have ever shown them.”

“He has become yet another corrupt ruler of their lands.”

Kuai didn’t need to look at the Scorpion’s hand to see the kunai dropping from it to clatter quietly beside him. So he faced the demon. Or rather the part of the man that still burned with the hellfire he had been able to wield since he returned to life in this world. Fine. He had fought the Scorpion before both as a living man and the dead. He believed he could best this creature with enough focus and skill. He would have to if the others were to have any chance at driving Raiden and his forces back to the Sky Temple from which they came. Still he would try to show Hanzo some form of mercy. The man had endured enough. This new form of slavery was as much an insult as it was a new leash to control him by.

“Prepare yourself,” Kuai snapped, crushing the ice in his palm. 

“You will burn in the fires of Hell.”

Well that was that then. It was Kuai who lashed out first, throwing a column of ice in an effort to trap Scorpion before he could throw that damned kunai. It worked but only for a second before a ball of Hellfire flew in his direction. It was large but Kuai managed to dodge it and keep going, ice blades already forming in his hands. If he could land the first blow, draw first blood and weaken his opponent even the slightest bit he might stand a chance at winning this without major injury. Possibly. If he was careful. It had been some time since he had last fought the demon. He could not remember the strength or techniques it had that different from Hasashi’s skill base.

He swept his blades at vulnerable skin, catching only bracers time and again before he was pushed back and forced to defend himself against a flurry of blows. Some of them hit harder than he expected but with the ice reinforcing his bracers he felt only a fraction of their power against his skin. He was glad for it. He expected the blows would shatter even his bones otherwise. He could easily fight through many injuries but there were some even beyond his capability to focus through. 

A blow to the gut had him doubling over but before he could be struck again he dropped down and kicked at Scorpion’s ankles hard enough to knock him down too. He was quicker to his feet and called an ice maul to his hands which he brought down upon the Scorpion with a sickening crack. The maul itself shattered and he saw some of the bones it came into contact with break as well. He heard his opponent scream in pain. He made himself ignore it. The Scorpion would not stop until his opponent was dead or he was unconscious. Kuai did not think the demon had changed that much in its time.

But as Kuai watched the Scorpion stood, some white light from within itself healing its wounds. He muttered a quiet curse under his breath. So he could heal himself if left alone too long. Fine. That meant he didn’t have to worry about dealing what would normally be fatal blows. Somehow the man would keep getting up until he all but killed his opponent anyway. It was unnatural and twisted and very much reminiscent of Quan Chi’s magic. Yet the demon was dead. How corrupted had Raiden become to use the same power on those who already served him faithfully?

“Shirai-ryu dog,” Kuai growled as he gathered more ice into his hands, “An attack dog with yet another master holding his leash. I would have thought that you of all people would be tired of serving another.”

The demon gathered hellfire in its hands and even with the mask over its face seemed to grin. “I am not the one who swore to protect an all too fragile mortal lover.”  
Kuai was half tempted to take the bait and try to find Kenshi in the battle but kept his focus instead on the monster he faced now. He threw the ice he gathered, missing his target and being forced to dance around one fireball then two thrown in his direction. The blow that followed them he could not block completely. He felt it through his arm when the bone crackled. He cried out his pain and channeled some of the chill of his powers to set it quickly while he blocked another blow. This time he was able to parry it and countered, feeling more than a little satisfied when he was able to land several heavy hits to the demon’s face and chest, staggering him with each one.

He went to land a heavier blow after the fifth hit but instead was knocked back by taking a fireball to his abdomen. The heat of it made his skin burn underneath the protective cloth that had almost burned away completely upon the initial impact. “Surrender now, Sub Zero,” Scorpion said, already preparing his kunai, “and perhaps Raiden will show you the mercy he showed me.”

Kuai pressed a handful of ice to his burns, leaving it there as he took up another defensive stance. “I will die before I serve another,” he snapped then tried to conjure more power before the kunai was thrown. It buried itself in his side only because he was able to step back and avoid letting the blade sink into his chest. It went in deep and when it pulled him closer to his enemy he felt muscle within himself tear. He muffled his own cries and instead let the blade carry him, conjuring his ice blades once more and driving them into the exposed body of the demon, drawing too hot blood onto his hands. Blood for blood.

The demon lashed out, striking him hard against his exposed face but Kuai let the blow knock him over so he could draw the kunai from his skin and avoid any further damage to his insides. Again he quickly sealed this wound and got to his feet. He was glad for his mask even if it made it harder to breathe in general. He didn’t think he’d be able to sustain this level of energy for much longer if he had not donned it before the fight.

Another flurry of blows. Another round of exchanging hit for hit, sometimes sinking blades deep into flesh and other times throwing one another around like rag dolls. The other soldiers stayed clear of their battle and Kuai couldn’t help but feel glad for it. He didn’t think he could protect anyone else right now. By the gods he could barely protect himself.

They were both exhausted. Kuai’s whole body ached but he made himself stand ready and he could see even with whatever unnatural power sustained him that the Scoripion was starting to flag too. Yet neither could surrender; Kuai because he had too many people depending on him, too many loved ones he needed to protect, and the Scorpion because of this mysterious new purpose that drove him and his Shirai-Ryu to fight the Special Forces like his. Distantly he heard Sonya’s commands being shouted loudly and heard the crackle of electricity being thrown around. Someone had engaged Raiden but who? He didn’t have the time to spare the glance. 

But before they could attack one another again the Scorpion was brought short by an arrow protruding from its chest. It stumbled and stared at it, as if dumbfounded, before turning to face the one who fired it. “Looking for a fair fight, Scorpion?” Kung Jin asked, his usual cocky self though dressed in the dark clothes and armor of a professional thief rather than a Special Forces fighter. It made him harder to see and thus was probably how he managed to get the time he needed to take the shot with his bow. It was not that Kuai’s pride was stung about the fact that another younger fighter was trying to take his opponent from him… it was more that the young fighter had never truly faced the demon and thus had no idea the kind of fight he was in for.

“Go!” Kuai snapped at the young man, fighting to steady his breath through his mask, “I have him engaged. Help the others with Raiden.” If Raiden could be made to call the retreat then perhaps he would call back these others with him. It was a small chance but still a chance that they all had to take. He could keep the Scorpion occupied until then. He had to if he wanted to have any hope of Kenshi surviving this battle at all. If Raiden were so far gone as to execute any who would question him then they all faced the executioner’s axe (or in this case lightning) for even thinking of fighting back. Kuai promised himself he would see to it that Kenshi made it out of this in one piece no matter what the cost.

He threw another column of ice at the demon to draw its attention back to him and charged the creature drawing the metal blades he had on his person in an effort to create and keep wounds open in skin that would otherwise melt through his ice weapons. He managed to surprise the Scorpion this time, the metal finding more hot flesh to tear open with every swipe. The monster’s cries started to sound more human with each blow and for just a moment he was tempted to stop. He did not want to kill his rival, only incapacitate him.

It was, perhaps, his mistake. He should have known better. His hesitation left him open to the chain of his enemy being wrapped around his neck and tightened. He fought against the pressure, throwing everything he had against both it and the man he fought. Metal blades found more flesh and while it did loosen for a fraction of a second it was not enough. The lack of air, hot or cold, made him feel faint. He couldn’t fight as hard. He could feel his grip on the world slipping yet again. He had experienced death before. It had not been nearly this frightening.

The chain loosened but not to set him free. He was thrown instead against nearby crate, hard enough to dent the metal. He coughed and choked as he tried to regain his breath only for Scorpion to come close enough to rip the mask from his face. “Twice I have lost the love of my life, once to Quan Chi and his foul magic and now to you.”

“Ken-Kenshi… is… his own…man. He… chose… me…”

A too hot hand picked Kuai up by the neck and held him against the metal crate he had been thrown against. The hand did not choke him but rather hold him in place by his jaw. He could not speak if he wanted to, not that he did. He grabbed at the arm that held him though, tried to freeze it or break it. But ice melted as soon as it touched hellfire hot skin and what bones he managed to chip at healed almost instantly. “You will pay for your transgressions, Lin Kuei,” the demon hissed.

With his jaw trapped as it was, Kuai was able to hold back his scream of pain but barely. A blade cutting into his flesh was nothing new but slowly pressing through him was a whole new experience. He could feel the ice he had used to seal his wounds fading. His body’s screams overwhelmed everything else he could possibly think of. He didn’t notice when the blade stopped but he did cry out when he was dropped and the blade was jarred from where it rested deep in his abdomen. He could barely feel his blood spilling out of the wound. The world was a blur before his eyes. He heard nothing but the loud pounding of his heart in his ears.

Then there was a crackle of some kind of power nearby. He felt hands against his face and his vision grew dark. He heard a voice through the pounding but not what it said. Then he heard Kenshi’s voice in his mind. It sounded like it was echoing what the familiar voice said. “Kuai! Kuai hang on!”

He opened his mouth, tried to speak but couldn’t quite make a sound. He reached for the shadow before his eyes, the other hand trying to conjure ice over his wound. The air was too warm. He had lost far too much blood.

There was shouting beyond him but he could decipher none of it. Then there was a hand over the blade still buried in him. “Kuai I need you to listen to me. I know you’re still there, I can feel you with me.” Something grabbed his free hand. He couldn’t feel what it was but it squeezed his hand. He tried to squeeze back. He didn’t have much strength. “There’s a medic on the way. Raiden called a retreat. It was too chaotic, I can’t tell you why.”

Kuai tried to make Kenshi understand that he didn’t care. The point of it was that the man was with him. He was alive. As far as he was concerned the battle was won. He didn’t want to think of the bodies that no doubt littered the camp around them, men and women who were not so lucky. His reason for fighting still breathed. 

His hand must have slipped in Kenshi’s. He felt so very tired but knew he should no sleep. The hand on his face slapped his skin gently and the hand tightened over his own. “No! No, don’t you dare, Kuai Liang. Don’t you dare leave me! Not now.”

He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to embrace the nothingness that was death or perhaps awaken to find himself enslaved again. But death was rarely so kind as to hear the pleas of a fallen warrior. At least, he reasoned, he would die fighting instead of alone in a bed reliving past glories. It might have been nice to grow old with Kenshi to be there with him to the end. If anything he regretted that Kenshi would have to know the pain of such a heavy loss again even if they had not been together very long.

Suddenly the one warm hand against his skin pulled away. The warmth was replaced with cooler gloved hands and he was being moved, lifted, onto a different surface. He could tell he was moving but not where to. Only that he was moving quickly. He could not hear these voices as they shouted. A hand that was not his own helped him steady the blade buried deep as they moved quickly. He felt dizzy trying to follow the shadows so he closed his eyes and listened as best he could. It made him sleepy but he fought to stay conscious. 

They stopped in a room that was significantly colder than the outside world and there was the sound of beeping machines. Kaui’s body drew the cold to him, absorbing it as one might the warmth of the sun. A mask was placed upon his face but the person who put it on didn’t speak to him. The consciousness he fought so hard for slipped between his fingers again. He barely felt it when they removed the blade. Before he slept he heard only the distant but frantic beeping of a machine near his head and people shouting orders with urgency.

When he opened his eyes Kuai knew himself to be an astral protection. It was the only explanation for how he saw himself on the operating table, doctors and nurses frantically trying to keep his blood and internal organs in place as if he were a human. He felt them trying to keep his body warm, no doubt thinking his cool skin was a sign of him dying. If they continued he’d just as likely overheat in their hands as die of blood loss on their table. He didn’t wait to see how they did, however. Whether he lived or died now was out of his hands.

Instead he left the operating room and followed the long hallway until he heard familiar voices talking. Kenshi was trying to speak frantically to a doctor who was stitching shit a deep gash across his back. “No, you do not understand. Sub Zero is not human. His body temperature is naturally lower. Keep the operating room as cold as your doctors can tolerate it or else they will lose him.”

“The doctors are doing everything the can.”

“They are going to treat him like a human when he is not. He won’t survive the surgery if you do not listen and get that room as cold as you can.”

Kuai stepped completely into the room and knew Kenshi could sense his presence. He stopped talking suddenly, probably much to the doctor’s relief, and she finished her work quickly before she left the room. There were other patients that needed tending to. The rest of Kenshi’s wounds, from what he could tell, seemed minor in comparison to the gash that looked like some deep blade had very nearly carved through his ribs from behind.

“IF you are here then the surgery is not going well.”

“It is out of my hands, Kenshi. As it is yours.”

“It’s not supposed to end like this. Not before it began.”

“It is the path that the gods have laid out for us. I do not regret a moment of our path that led to this moment.”

“Nothing?”

Kuai sighed and wished he could feel Kenshi’s skin beneath his hand again even if it was only one more time. “I wish I had the strength to say good bye. I regret that you were there, this time, to watch me in my final moments. I regret that I am yet again the source of your pain. But I do not regret that I gave my life to this cause nor that I died to protect you and your family. Jacqueline Briggs is carrying your son’s child. Assuming she made it through the battle without injury, you will have another love to fill your time and attention soon.”

“You speak as if you are already dead.”

“Am I not?”

“Not yet. Not until they come through that door and tell me you are.”

Kuai opened his mouth to say something else, perhaps something about not clinging to where there was no hope but then there was a sudden pain and a jarring sensation. Then for a long time there was darkness. He could feel nothing, hear nothing, see nothing but somehow was aware that there was the nothingness anyway. It was odd, as if being trapped without seeing the trap, yet he think of no better way to explain it.

Eventually his senses did start to come back to him, one at a time, and the first think he felt that he couldn’t say he displeased to feel was a deep chill that settled well into his bones. There was a cloth beneath his hands that felt cool even to his fingers and when he took a deep breath the air felt crisp if not recycled several times oven. He tried to open his eyes and found it to be as struggle at first but after a few more tries he succeeded and found himself in a poorly lit but very cold room with a plastic tarp of some kind surrounding his bed. The tarp had a layer of frost on it and now that he listened there was a persistent beep of computer monitors somewhere above his head. 

He pressed a hand to his abdomen, remembering the pain there, and felt bandages and an unusual warmth beneath them. So he was not yet completely healed. He wasn’t sure if he should feel pleased about that or not but he was alive. Somehow, despite all of that, he still lived. He would have to remember to thank the hospital staff that operated on him once he learned their names. They no doubt had a difficult time considering how very different his anatomy was to most of their patients. He didn’t think his body trying to freeze everything over when it regained any sort of strength helped anything either.

He turned his head toward the far wall, away from where the dim light shown through the tarp and smiled when he saw Kenshi sleeping there, still dressed in his bloodied armor, fitfully murmuring to himself. Takeda’s clothes were nearby, meaning that he had been by earlier and left the room for a few minutes. Kuai Liang smiled to himself and just watched Kenshi for now. He was alive. Kenshi was alive. They still had time to be together, however brief it might be in human years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this ending is very abrupt. I blame the fact I wrote this for NaNoWriMo 2016 and ran out of time but I also feel like this lets me work on a second story to turn this into something of a series. If you have critiques for how I wrote Kuai's voice I'd like to hear them as I think the next story will probably be written from Kenshi's POV just to make things a little more interesting. I already have some ideas forming now but if you have some you want to throw in, I'd be glad to hear from you. Thanks for reading!


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